


Another Branch to the Family Tree

by SpaceyAuthors



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Humantale (Undertale), Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Faking-Amnesia, Feels, Flowey has feelings, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Multiverse, Scars, Self-Harm, Swearing, The Underground (Undertale), classic sans is in humantale, originally written in rp form, sans doesn't know what the fuck is going on, there's non-binary representation in this so be prepared for that, toriel is losing her patience
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-04
Updated: 2019-01-02
Packaged: 2019-06-21 17:51:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15563214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpaceyAuthors/pseuds/SpaceyAuthors
Summary: When something goes horribly wrong with the machine in Sans's basement, he finds himself broken and battered in a patch of golden flowers. When he's approached by two humans that are eerily familiar, he realizes that his theory was correct; the multiverse exists, and he just so happened to find himself inanother universe....How thehellis he going to get home?(Updates mostly on weekends during the school year; will be relatively consistent for a long time, but we may miss a few days here and there. Thank you for dealing with our occasional lateness!)





	1. it's called flowerBED for a reason, bucko

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! 
> 
> first thing's first: this account is run by two people. namely, frisk and nex. i'm frisk! 
> 
> anyhow. my friend nex and i rp (role-play) a lot of undertale stuff. we have been for _over a year_. we've always talked about turning our rps into fanfiction and posting them, because we love them so much, but we never got the motivation to do so.
> 
> however... we finally did it! this specific story that we began to rp was just _so good_ that we _had_ to share it with the world.
> 
> anyway, as the summary states, classic sans finds himself in... humantale. basically. yeah. 
> 
> we're debating on whether or not there's gonna be some kind of romance later on, but y'know, be prepared for that.
> 
> anyhow.  
> we spruced up the story slightly and made it easier to read as a fanfiction, but we didn't change _much_. so, that being said... keep in mind that most of this is in rp format, even though it's to be read as a story.
> 
> the pov is going to change back and forth a lot, but we really hope that you still enjoy the story.
> 
> also! once we finish this, we plan on going through and rewriting the whole thing _properly_ for those of you who don't like it as it is currently written.
> 
> now, i know seeing "rp format" is probably a turn off for fanfiction, but, please, if you've read this far, give the story a shot! 
> 
> (by the way: nex writes sans, and frisk writes human flowey, human toriel, and in the future will be writing human sans and... probably a lot more characters after that).
> 
> (heck, another side note, we write in docs and we tend to write some text in a smaller size. ao3 does not allow us to do that- or at least it'd be very frustrating to figure it out- so we apologize if anything seems weird! a lot of the feeling with certain things come with the size).
> 
> anyway, without further ado:
> 
> Another Branch to the Family Tree! :D

Sans woke painfully and slowly, everything blurry and bright. It took a long time for him to even be able to move, much less comprehend what was in front of him.

When he finally did, he had to look away, because that was a _bright fucking light_ and he would go blind if he had to stare at it anymore.

Turning onto his stomach, though, had been a mistake as well. He ended up face to face with a painfully bright golden flower. ...The same kind of flower he’s had to look at for most of his life.

Sans was sitting up quickly, in a bit of a panic; he paused halfway up and groaned as pain flared all over his body.

He glanced down and around him, steadily cringing more and more. Most of the flowers were crushed beyond recovery. Looking around, there were _incredibly_ tall walls and a short hallway leading off of where he was.

…

...What…?

Sans forced himself up a little more sat cross-legged. His mind was literally _blank_ as he reached for a flower, easily plucking it (the stem seemed pretty sturdy, actually…). He twirled it between his fingers, feeling the soft petals (softer than normal).

He eventually dropped it back with the rest of the flowers and just… tried to take a deep breath. Everything hurt and he would probably pass out if this went on much longer.

He just… _didn’t understand._

Sans faltered when he saw movement in the corner of his eye, but _froze_ a second later.

That…

That was a human.

“...u-um…”

 

* * *

 

 

Flowey readjusted his gardening gloves with a sigh, walking down the corridor to his small garden in the only spot in the entire Underground that had sunlight.

His mom had stupidly gotten frustrated with him (for being “rude”, or something), and told him to go “calm down” (those weren’t her exact words, but that’s what Flowey took from it, anyway) in his garden.

He was reluctant to listen, but the only reason he decided to was because he _wanted_ to; it had _nothing_ to do with his mother telling him to.

Nope.

He had his eyes down as he entered the final room with his garden of beautiful, golden flowers, but when he looked up, he froze in his tracks, his fingers still hooked in his left glove.

He stared at the _creature_ (creature? Was it alive? _It was a skeleton!_ But it was moving and it was looking at him and _what?!_ ) for a long few moments, unsure of how to even _react._

However, before he could address the fact that _holy crap, there’s a live skeleton in here,_ his eyes flitted down to _beneath_ the badly dressed skeleton.

…

_**His flowers!** _

He stomped forward, his expression turning angry. “Hey, you! _Get off of my flowers!_ What the HELL do you think you’re doing?!” He got closer, extending his arms to shove the skeleton out of the way to inspect his damaged flowers.

Sans flinched and finally snapped out of the daze he was in when the human was suddenly _approaching_ with _hostile intent._ He was quick to roll off of the flowerbed and stand, though he fell back down as soon as he was up.

“s-sorry! sorry! j-jeez! chill…!” He was steadily backing up until his back hit the wall and he was using it to push himself up to stand. His legs were shaking.

Flowey dropped to his knees beside his flowers and began to gently run his fingers through the petals.

His scowl had dropped into an expression of sadness at his poor, victimized flowers, but when the skeleton was suddenly _speaking_ and telling him to _chill,_ no less, Flowey’s expression was quickly turning angry again as he snapped his head up to glare at the shaking skeleton.

His fingers curled into fists and he was slowly pushing himself to stand. _“CHILL?! You DESTROYED MY FLOWERS!”_

He stomped closer, gripping his hand in the skeleton’s shirt and tugging him real close, his other hand lifting in the air, as if to punch him.

“Who the- _what the hell are you?!_ Where the hell did you come from?! _WHY. WERE YOU. IN. MY. FLOWERS?”_ He bellowed his demand, glaring intently.

It was so _hard_ not to just punch him, but he wanted _answers_ before he knocked him… it… out.

Wait.

_What the hell was going on?!_

Was he having some kind of… acid trip?!

Sans’s hands automatically went to grip the human’s wrist as his breathing picked up. His eyes kept going to the fist currently _seconds_ away to breaking his skull into tiny, stupid shards. “i- _i don’t know!_ i don’t know how i got here! put- put me down! i-i just- i woke up here- and- h-heh, and i never meant to even _touch_ your flowers…!” In a bit of a panic he tried to summon his magic, but a sudden pain hit him and his eye lights guttered out.

His grip on the human’s wrist slackened.

Flowey’s anger bubbled up further when the skeleton gripped him, but he still kept his hand curled in the ratty shirt and his fist drawn back. His glare was sharp as he listened to the skeleton speak, and when the skeleton finished speaking, Flowey opened his mouth to respond, but he was cut short.

He hadn’t even _noticed_ the lights in this skeleton’s eye sockets, until they were suddenly _gone._  
The skeleton’s grip relaxed, too.

...What… _what just happened?_

He frowned, his anger dying down just a little in his confusion, and his grip loosened _just slightly,_ but he still kept up his front. “Alright, _say_ you didn’t mean to touch my flowers…!” He began, but then trailed off a bit. His glare turned into something more of… confusion.

He looked the skeleton up and down before he sighed heavily, rolled his eyes, and shoved the skeleton against the wall as he let him go and took a few steps back.

He glanced at his poor flowers, another wave of sadness rolling over him before he shook it off and turned to glare at the skeleton again. “...What _are_ you? How am I- how are _you-?”_ He took a breath. “You’re a walking, talking skeleton, that _destroyed my flowers._ Just. _What the hell?!”_ He didn’t even _know_ what kind of question to ask, because this was _so bizarre!_

What the hell was _happening?!_

Sans grunted when he was shoved against the wall and coughed once he hit the floor; everything _burned_ with pain. He was squirming a bit, just trying to make it _stop._ Every breath he took hurt; it was ridiculous. “...s-sorry about yer damn flowers… ‘didn’t mean to.” He was rubbing at his chest and just… trying to _breathe._

Flowey scowled, then scoffed. “‘Doesn’t matter that you didn’t mean to, ‘cause you still did it!” He exclaimed, then turned to look at his flowers again. He sighed, kneeling beside them once again as he looked them over.

They were all _crumpled…!_ Maybe they would be okay…?

...Who was he kidding.

He’d tended to these little guys for _so long,_ making sure they were healthy and perfect and beautiful, and now…! They were broken.

They broke right along with his _heart._

The only reason he hadn’t cared that he turned his back to the skeleton was because it was so obviously _injured_ and _weak_ and _pathetic._

Flowey scanned the flowerbed one last time, but he froze when he saw something.

His frown deepened, and he carefully reached forward, only to pick up… _the only plucked flower in the entire garden._

His expression turned to one of rage and he was quickly whirling around, brandishing the crumpled, torn flower out in front of him at the skeleton. _“IF YOU DIDN’T MEAN TO RUIN MY FLOWERS, WHY IS THERE ONLY ONE THAT HAS BEEN PLUCKED?!”_ He bellowed angrily, gripping the dead flower tightly.

...He kept forgetting to address the fact that there was a talking skeleton.

He should probably get around to that at some point, but he was _too damn upset about his flowers._

“i dunno, man! why d’ya gotta blame _me_ for everything!?” He was slowly getting accustomed to thinking under the sudden bouts of anger. It was hard to force himself to forget the small things and think on his feet, but his damn _survival instincts_ were kicking in.

...And _why the fuck was there a human here._

Flowey scowled, and _almost_ threw the dead flower at the skeleton (he went as far as to raise his arm), but he stopped because he didn’t want to disrespect his dead flower. He sighed quietly and looked back down at his flower, holding it gently on his palm.

Why did his flower have to die…?

_Why did they all have to get damaged?_

He had only spotted a _few_ that were still standing tall and proud.

He glared back up at the skeleton. “ _...You’re_ the one who hurt my ch-flowers.” He pointed out bitterly. “...Are you _real?”_ He ended up blurting; he’d been baffled the entire time, but it was suffocated by his anger and pain over his flowers.

Now that he was simply across from the skeleton and still on his knees, just breathing and grieving his flowers, though, he was able to really _look_ at the skeleton, confusion coursing through his veins.

_Was he dreaming? Did he take some sort of drug and he couldn’t remember? What the hell was going on?_ How was there a _talking skeleton in his garden?!_

This didn’t make _any sense._

_...And why was the skeleton **clothed?!**_

Sans blinked and looked the human up and down slowly. ...This weirdo had almost punched him over a flower, yelled at him over… a flower, and was now asking if he was real. “…...what the fuck.”

Flowey was the next one to blink. Then, he scowled. _“Well?!_ Are you?! Or am I dreaming?! You- you _can’t_ be real, I just-! _You’re a skeleton!_ Skeletons are- ...you know… _...dead things,”_ He frowned. “...Remains-” He began.

_“wow,_ oh boy, whoa now, _hey,”_ He was cringing. “do i look dead t’you? and, uh, yer being… _really_ racist. i’m not some… _remains…_ jeez…” He shifted uncomfortably. _“especially_ not a fucking _human’s_ remains… _stars…_ so don’t- so don’t go saying that shit.”

Flowey blinked, his eyebrows furrowing. _“Racist?!” What the hell?!_ “What- _what does that even-!_ You’re- you’re _not-!”_ His head was going to explode. “How are you- I’m- _I’m so-!”_ What kind of question was he supposed to _ask?!_ “You _destroy my flowers and then accuse me of racism-!”_

**“Hey!”**

Flowey jumped, turning his head to see his mom looming in the, more or less, “doorway” that wasn’t a door.

She was frowning. _“What_ is all of this racket?!” She exclaimed.

Flowey blinked, then pointed to the skeleton as he looked between the two of them. “You can _see that,_ right?!” He asked.

Toriel blinked, her gaze moving from her son to…

…

What?

“ I- yes, what- _what is going on here?”_

Flowey jumped up and threw his arms out. “I don’t _know!_ That’s the same question _I’ve_ been trying to ask! _This- this **thing** destroyed my flowers!”_ He complained almost childishly.

Toriel put up a hand. _“Enough!”_ She stepped forward cautiously, her eyebrows furrowed and a slight frown on her lips. She eyed the skeleton up and down in silence multiple times as Flowey crossed his arms and sulked, slinking towards his flowers again.

Toriel was quiet for a long moment. “...What is happening.” She asked, mostly to herself, in complete and utter disbelief.

Sans had flinched hard when there was suddenly another voice in the room, but a second later he’d gone completely still and frozen.

...He _recognized_ that voice.

He swallowed thickly and simply watched one human calm down the other, barely moving.

Eventually, he managed to start pushing himself up to stand using the wall. He was gonna _pass out_ at this rate.

...But _stars,_ his soul was pounding. He _knew_ that voice. He knew it almost as well as he knew his brother’s. “…...y- ...y-you… tori…?” He was almost-... he _was_ scared to ask.

Toriel froze, her eyes going wide as her eyebrows lifted.

Even Flowey froze in his sulking and turned to stare at the skeleton in disbelief.

Toriel was quiet for a long moment. “...How… how do you know my name…?” She didn’t even get answers as to how there was a _talking skeleton_ in here, but _god-_ how did this skeleton know her name?! Flowey surely didn’t tell him, did he…?

...She hadn’t heard the skeleton’s voice clear enough, but something in the back of her mind struck her as _familiar._

She couldn’t pinpoint it, though; he’d been too quiet.

Meanwhile, Flowey was hardly breathing or thinking as he watched the interaction.

He _knew_ he hadn’t let his mother’s name loose…!

Sans swallowed thickly before he was suddenly unsteadily laughing and trying not to fall over.

Did the universe itself decide to prank him? What’d he do to deserve this? Nothing. He literally did nothing. Apparently that was bad, because he still somehow ended up here.

“y-you tell me.” He was steadily sliding down the wall. His skull was burning from the inside out and… it felt like he was going to puke.

He didn’t know how to deal with this. He was surrounded by humans and that was _bad,_ but he still couldn’t stop how his vision was beginning to blur and darken.

Flowey suddenly felt sick when the skeleton began laughing, and Toriel was… unsettled.

She opened her mouth to respond, but when the skeleton was suddenly sliding down the wall, Toriel took a second to really _look_ at him.

Her mouth snapped shut and all of her confusion and wariness was thrown right out of the window; she could care less about the fact that this was a… a _live?_ skeleton. All she knew was that this was someone who was in _pain_ and about to _pass out._

Her motherly instincts took control and she was quickly stepping forward. “Oh, dear-!” She caught the skeleton before he managed to fall and hurt himself more.

_“Mom!?_ What are you doing?! _Don’t touch it!”_ Flowey practically screeched as Toriel was lifting the skeleton into her arms (she was incredibly strong, but the skeleton was also… very light).

She held the skeleton bridal style before she stood, turned, and shot her son a look. _“Asriel,_ my dear, this is someone who is _alive,_ and _clearly_ injured. Now, I need you to _run home_ and get me my medical supplies.” She stated firmly; her time was limited, after all.

Flowey looked disgruntled. “‘S Flowey…” He grumbled under his breath.

Toriel only intensified her stare. _“Go. Now._ I need to help this skeleton… regardless of the fact that he is a skeleton.” When he only stood there in disbelief, disgust, and confusion, eyeing the skeleton, Toriel snapped. _“Now!”_

Flowey groaned loudly and threw his hands up in the air, turning and giving his flowers one last, sad glance. His poor flowers… he sighed heavily before shooting a glare at the skeleton, his mom, and then storming off. “Whatever!” He exclaimed huffily.

Once he was gone, Toriel sighed and looked down at the skeleton in her arms with worry. He seemed really hurt; what _happened…?_

She forced all of her questions down about how this was a living skeleton, instead focusing on the fact that it was a _living being_ that was _hurt._

She brushed over his skull and held him close before she began to briskly follow her son, careful of jostling the skeleton too much.

Sans didn’t have the energy to flinch when he was suddenly in the human’s arms, but the shock and wave of muted fear woke him up a little.

A sick feeling coiled in him when he was suddenly lifted off the ground, but he didn’t outwardly react (distantly, he recalled him and Toriel joking about all the over-the-top, motherly things she would do to him).

Once he was secure in her arms, he swallowed thickly. He was surrounded by just… _warmth._

And the way she brushed over his skull…

_...Ugh…_

She was so soft and obviously kind and just… She was _Toriel._

_He didn’t understand._

...A soft, pained groan slipped passed him as he slowly allowed himself to go limp.

Toriel looked down with a worried frown when she heard a quiet noise of pain. “Shh, my child… you will be alright. I will take care of you.” She reassured, re-adjusting her grip on him to hopefully something that was more comfortable.

She was being very careful not to jostle him while she continued to briskly walk; Asriel was already way ahead of her, thank goodness. That boy had _better_ get out her first-aid kit and whatnot so she can help this skeleton!

Sans huffed a breath of weak laughter. He knew without a doubt that she would.

This was _Toriel,_ who used to mother him _every day_ through a damn _door._

This woman was _ridiculous._

Even as a human…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooo, that was the first chapter! rather short, i know. we have a total of 54 pages of this story, though, so we plan on updating this weekly! 
> 
> a lot more is to come for sans and the angsty flower child and stressed out mother.
> 
> tune in next time!
> 
> please leave a comment to let us know if you enjoyed this! your comments really encourage us to keep posting. if you, yes you, the person who is reading this, have enjoyed this story, and you want to see more, _please_ leave a comment! it can be anonymous. 
> 
> the comments keep us going. 
> 
> thank you so so so much for reading!
> 
> also, we will be making a tumblr, hopefully with this username, and i will make a link to that soon.  
> edit of my edit: so i said that the link was ready and i tried my hardest to link it but for some reason it won't work. if you're curious, it's just: https://www.spaceyauthors.tumblr.com  
> there is literally nothing there. no profile picture or any reblog or post. BUT. feel free to send us a message or something if you would like! we'll get around to posting on there... soon... so yeah. thanks!
> 
> bye!
> 
> -frisk


	2. Oh Goodness, What Happened Here?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toriel and Flowey fix up an unconscious, scarred, beaten up Sans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this entire chapter was written by me, frisk.  
> it was literally 4 pages in docs when nex and i rp'd it.  
> i hope you enjoy!  
> i didn't actually go through to edit this so if you see any typos, let me know. thanks!
> 
> "hey everybody i'm nex  
> i exist btw  
> and i also had no contributions to this chapter whatsoever xD  
> so this is all frisk's work and they're amazing and you should totally love them  
> anyway, enjoy!"

Flowey begrudgingly pulled out all of his mother’s medical supplies and got it set up; he even grabbed the foldable “surgery” table that was in case of emergencies if someone needed immediate, serious medical care.

...He hated that his mother was going to help the idiot that _destroyed his flowers!_

~~He would rather let the skeleton die.~~

He immediately shook the thought from his head; he wasn’t _that_ cruel, but… _ugh._ Did she _really_ have to help him? What if he was a bad guy?

…

He was a _freaking skeleton!_

Of _course_ he was a bad guy, he wasn’t even- ...was he even a _guy?_

...Oh boy.

When Flowey finished setting everything up in the spare room (that his mom used as her little ‘doctor’s office’; she would bring Flowey in as a little kid and make him sit up on the table when he was sick as she would ‘evaluate’ his sickness, making him giggle by making him stick out his tongue and go ‘ahh’. ...She would always give him a lollipop for being good; Flowey used to love those moments, and would sometimes _fake_ sickness just get a lollipop, but now, he avoided her as much as possible when sick; despite this, she still always got her way in bringing him in here and having him sit on the table. He hated it, now), he spared a glance at the extra chair.

He shook his head and quickly exited the room, about to go and hide in his room, but his mom entered at that exact moment. He froze and cringed, but then quickly tried to run off.

 _“Asriel,_ you _will_ help your dear old mother, will you not?” She asked sternly.

Flowey groaned loudly, spinning and facing her with a frown. “It’s. _Flowey._ And. _...Ugh…”_ The guilt coursed through Flowey’s body at her guilt trip. He scuffed his feet before sighing. “Whatever. Fine,” He begrudgingly turned and slammed the door back open and stomping in. He took a seat in the spare chair, crossed his arms, and slumped as he scowled, glaring at the floor.

 

* * *

 

 

Meanwhile, Toriel sighed heavily and entered the room, carefully maneuvering the skeleton until she closed the door behind her with a kick of her foot.

She then turned and looked to see everything set out; the table for her patients to lie on and the higher table for her medical supplies. She smiled and looked to Asriel. “Thank you for setting all of this up for me. It would have taken too long for me to do it all myself before helping this injured one,” She hummed. “You saved me a lot of time, and potentially his life. _...Thank you.”_ She always made sure to praise him when he was good.

 _”...Whatever.”_ He mumbled.

Toriel paused, then simply sighed, shaking her head and stepping forward.

She gently laid the skeleton on the table (she had always wanted to get a nice, comfortable bed of some sort, but she had never been able to), and looked over his injuries.

His eye (sockets) were closed, and he seemed to be in a lot of pain. She hummed softly. “...Dear, are you still awake?” She asked quietly. When all she got was a grumble, she decided that he was too far gone to really be with it. She nodded, then looked up to Asriel. “Asi, I am going to need your help,”Asriel groaned. “To speed things up, after I disinfect all of these wounds, I need you to bandage them up.”

Asriel frowned. “...I don’t… get it. This… whatever it is… is a _skeleton._ How’s it- how’s it even hurt…?” He muttered.

Toriel’s lips thinned impatiently. “It is unimportant right now, Asriel,” Asriel cringed. “What’s _important_ is the fact that this person is in pain and needs our help. _Please_ quit the stalling and the questions and _help me,”_ She gave him a sharp look.

Asriel held it for a moment, a bitter expression on his face, before he finally looked away and rolled his eyes. He huffed. “Whatever,” He stood and awkwardly lingered by the table.

Toriel straightened and smiled. “Thank you,” She looked back down at the skeleton, and decided that she had no idea how many wounds there were. She gently, slowly began to zip down the skeleton’s hoodie. “...Asi, keep an eye out,” She said quietly.

Asriel didn’t need her to explain; he quickly snapped to attention and glared at the skeleton, watching to make sure he didn’t attack his mother.

Toriel relaxed slightly and spoke softly to the skeleton. “...If you are still somewhat with it, dear, I am simply going to take off your jacket and your shirt to check for wounds. Please, stay calm. I will only roll up your pant legs to spare you your privacy.”

...Flowey thought it was stupid that she was talking to the skeleton- he looked _dead!-_ but he didn’t say anything. He was too busy watching to make sure that the skeleton wouldn’t pull anything.

Toriel gently pushed the jacket off of the skeleton’s arms, quietly taking in the rest of the cuts and bruises; his face and hands had been rather beaten up, but his arms were worse. ...Toriel was almost afraid to keep looking.

Still, she persisted, and carefully began to pull up his shirt. She looked up at Asriel. “Help me, will you?” She asked.

Asriel seemed to pause for a moment, arms crossed and scowling, but finally he sighed and stepped closer, reaching out and (reluctantly) gently taking the skeleton’s arms and pulling them back with one hand, his other hand pushing him up a bit so Toriel could pull the shirt up and over his head. Once it was off, Asriel gently set him back down and readjusted his arms to his sides.

Toriel had cringed at the sight of all of the cuts, but she looked up at Asriel with a smile. “Thank you for helping me,” She glanced at the skeleton’s legs and sighed, shaking her head, looking back up at Asriel. “...I am going to start with all of this, and then I am going to move on to the legs…” She said, paused, then sighed. “...Since there is so much, though, perhaps you can help me with disinfecting as well?” She questioned.

Asriel looked hesitant, but finally, he sighed, nodding. “Yeah. Fine. Whatever,” He said.

Despite the tense situation, Toriel couldn’t help the way her lips quirked up. She didn’t say anything, though; this was too important, and she couldn’t get sidetracked. She nodded. “Thank you,” She turned and grabbed the disinfectant wipes that Asriel had set out. She handed a few to Asriel before opening one of the little packs and pulling out a wipe, unfolding it.

 

* * *

 

 

It took awhile, but the two of them gently and carefully began to disinfect all of the skeleton’s wounds (there were many).

Asriel had gagged a few times at some of the… worse cuts, but when Toriel noticed, she had insisted on taking on the more painful looking ones.

The poor skeleton had seemed to squirm in pain, his face contorted in something akin to agony a lot of the time, but, thankfully, he never lashed out. When they finally finished with his arms, face, hands, ribs, and even a few marks on his spine, Toriel sighed.

...She recognized the scars on his arms, despite the fact that he was a skeleton.

She hoped that Asriel didn’t know what they were (Flowey knew).

She threw away all of the used up disinfectant wipes before she turned back to Asriel. “Alright. Now, you need to begin the bandaging as I move on to his legs…” She said, then paused and sighed as she looked over the skeleton’s torso. “...Mainly stick to his hands and arms. You can bandage some of the particularly bad spots on his ribs, but other than that, I do not think it is necessary to put something on every little cut,” She looked up at Asriel, waiting for an answer.

There was a moment of silence before he sighed. “...Yeah. Got it,” He said.

Toriel was quiet for a moment, waiting for the ‘whatever’, but when it didn’t come, she smiled brightly and nodded. “Thank you, dear,” She hummed, then turned to the skeleton’s legs. ...At least he was wearing basketball shorts.

There weren’t as many cuts on his legs (she wondered why), but there were still a few, so she decided to treat them anyway.

She rolled up the skeleton’s shorts all the way up his femurs. She winced; there were… more cuts here. ...What had happened to this poor skeleton?

...Why did he inflict harm on himself…?

Toriel shook her head, getting back on task.

She turned and grabbed another disinfectant wipe, happy to see Asriel working on carefully and precisely bandaging the skeleton. She then turned and began to clean up what she could of his legs.

 

* * *

 

 

This took another little while, and Asriel even bandaged a particularly bad cut on the skeleton’s leg, but finally…

They finished.

Toriel took a step back to admire their work before she looked up at Asriel with a bright smile. “Thank you _so much_ for helping me, dear,” She said.

Asriel shuffled uncomfortably, looking away. He shrugged. “Eh… wh-whatever. ‘S no- no p-problem,” He muttered.

Toriel sighed. “I am going to bring him to the couch. Why don’t you clean up in here?” She hummed, tilting her head.

Asriel groaned and rubbed his face. “Yeah, fine, whatever. When I’m done, can I go to my room?” *He asked.

Toriel smiled softly; it was a little sad. She nodded. “...Yes, but I will be coming by to check on you later, okay?”

Asriel grunted and dropped his hands. “Whatever,” He muttered.

Toriel could tell he was relieved to be able to go to his room after this, though. Toriel didn’t respond; she simply turned and picked the skeleton back up, carefully, and draping the skeleton’s t-shirt and jacket over his torso; she would put the t-shirt back on him once she got him to the couch.

She carried him out of the room (after Asriel opened the door for her) and gently laid him on the couch. She kept him sitting up for just a moment long enough to awkwardly tug the shirt over his head; it was good that she had had experience with dressing Asriel (a squirmy little one, at the time), or else it would have been hard to do it without any help whatsoever.

She draped his jacket over the couch and then gently maneuvered him into a more comfortable position, placing a pillow behind his head and draping a light blanket over him (she didn’t know if he could overheat, but she didn’t want that to happen).

When she was satisfied, she left to go grab a cup of water, some painkillers, and some pie (she wasn’t sure if the skeleton could even eat… but she decided to be prepared, anyway) before she came back and set them all on the coffee table.

When she was done, she checked over the skeleton one last time before she simply moved to her rocking chair, grabbed a book, and quietly began to read as she kept an eye on him.

 

* * *

 

 

Meanwhile, Flowey had begrudgingly cleaned up, but he worked a bit fast in his desperation to get out of here.

He hated that he helped the skeleton, but he hated _even more_ that he felt a bit prideful over his job well-done; ...he hated that he _liked_ the feeling of helping.

He tried his best to ignore it; the skeleton had _damaged his flowers!_

Ugh…

Whatever.

He put everything in its rightful place, folding the table back down and setting it up against the wall.

When he was _finally_ finished… Flowey was quick to run off to his room, grab his headphones, and blast his music as he angrily and depressingly sketched; ...he was sketching his damaged flowers.

He wouldn’t be leaving his room until he had to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! did you enjoy this? please, please leave a comment if you did! we're motivated to write more when we get comments! we really want to know your feedback! anonymous commenting is on, too, if you're too shy to post a comment while logged in!  
> thank you so much!  
> we'll see you again when we post chapter 3! :D  
> <3  
> -frisk


	3. Confused Recognition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toriel creates a nickname for Sans and finally recognizes something about him.  
> Sans and Toriel talk for a while as Toriel tries to pry information out of Sans.
> 
> Please keep the notes in mind; there's self-harm and reference to self-harm in this story. If you are not okay with that, please do not read this story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyo!   
> back with the weekly update even though the last update was after 5 days 'cause we got impatient...
> 
> ANYWAY! it looks like updates are going to be EVERY THURSDAY!
> 
> i have some important notes here, please read if you do not want to be confused during the story!  
> (these notes are going to be long, so i'll put a tl;dr at the end)
> 
> so. as you should know by now. this story is a _role-play_ between nex and i (frisk). all i really did... was i took the story and spaced it out properly and added quotation marks and maybe deleted or fixed a few words here and there.  
>  otherwise, this story is still entirely in rp format.  
> which means that the POV changes a LOT. 
> 
> it constantly switches back and forth between sans's thoughts and either toriel's or flowey's, depending on who i'm currently writing. (nex only writes sans in this story, currently; i will be writing everyone else that appears).
> 
> so, please keep that in mind. names are going to switch depending on who is being written; for instance, when it's toriel's pov (aka my reply) she's going to think of sans as the nickname that she gives him, as you will see later in the chapter and story. also, when it's toriel's pov, she's going to think of flowey as "asriel" and "her son".
> 
> when it's flowey's pov, he thinks of himself as "flowey" and thinks of toriel as "his mom". 
> 
> i know it's confusing, but it's just... how it is. and you Will find out in like, chapter 5 or 6, i think, about what's going on with flowey vs asriel. but yes, they ARE the same person! 
> 
> so yeah. this entire chapter is basically just sans and toriel, which means the pov is Constantly switching back and forth between their thoughts and just... yeah. it's way too difficult to go through and edit it and change the story entirely... but as i said in the first chapter's notes, we plan on rewriting the entire thing once we finish the rp and turning it into a more-proper fic for those of you who do not like reading it in this format, or if it's currently too confusing (we use different colored text in docs).
> 
> if there is any further confusion, please just leave a comment or shoot us a message on our tumblr! it's the same username as our ao3. we will do our best to correct ourselves and fix things! but yeah, this story is for fun and our own entertainment, and we simply wanted to share it with the world because we enjoyed the idea so much. of course, it's still a serious story with serious plot, but... yeah.
> 
> ANYWAY. thank you if you read all of that. now enjoy the chapter! it's... super long.
> 
> TL;DR  
> pov changes based on whether or not it was i, frisk, who was writing, or nex. i write toriel and flowey, nex writes sans. thoughts about who is who depends on the character as this story is written as an rp. toriel thinks of flowey as asriel and her son, she thinks of sans as the nickname she gives him. flowey thinks of toriel as his mom and thinks of himself as flowey. if you're confused, leave a comment, and we'll try to explain.

Sans ended up sleeping for almost two hours until the drowned out buzz of _fear_ in the back of his mind was finally able to push to the front of his mind.

He wasn’t aware to grasp any of what actually happened, but he was _sure_ that he’d felt touch.

He’d felt it _everywhere._

 _Human_ touch.

Sans’s breathing slowly worsened until he finally managed to tear his way back into reality and immediately freeze. He didn’t recognize this room. He didn’t recognize this blanket. He didn’t recognize that- that _person._

He forced himself to sit up quickly, immediately wincing and pressing his hand to his chest- ...His bandaged chest. He pulled his shirt back just enough to glimpse his bandaged bones before he was quickly twisting and turning until he spotted his jacket; he was quick to grab it and press it to his chest before _finally_ acknowledging the human in the room.

His soul was pounding.

“...h- ...hi…”

It had been a long while later, and Toriel had been content to just simply read the entire time. However, when she finally heard rough breathing, she was pulled from her book as she slowly lowered it and glanced up at the couch.

She was quiet for a moment, watching as the skeleton immediately sat up; she didn’t say anything, because she _knew_ that feeling of suddenly waking up in an unfamiliar place after being hurt. She allowed him to have his moment of panic, even looking down at her book to give him a moment of privacy. As long as he didn’t go anywhere, hurt himself, or panic for too long, it was fine.

When he was finally looking up at her and spoke, Toriel looked up at him with a soft smile. She dog-eared her book and set it aside, but she didn’t stand; she didn’t want to startle the skeleton.

“...Hello, dear. Feeling better? ...I do not know if you can drink, eat, or take medication, but if you need any of that… it is on the coffee table to your left,” She hummed quietly, making sure not to speak too loudly in case the skeleton had a headache (...she had no idea what this skeleton could feel, but if he could get cuts and pass out, then there was probably more than that; she would simply treat him like any other person until she learned otherwise that something was not a problem).

Sans swallowed thickly and looked to his left, carefully acknowledging all that was there. After a second, he pulled on his jacket, adjusting the sleeves and smoothing it out.

Another moment passed before he managed to make himself move and put his feet on the ground. He leaned forward to take the water and pill, though he had to quickly take the pill so he could hold the water with both hands; he was shaking so much…

After returning the water to the coffee table, he eyed the pie, but… something was off about it. It took a second, but he eventually realized.

Toriel probably didn’t have monster food.

…

...What was he gonna _do?_

…

Sans took a deep, shaky breath before trying to get himself to focus. “...s-so what’d- so what’d i miss.”

Toriel had been quiet, surprised and intrigued when the skeleton drank and took the medicine. She looked up at the skeleton when he spoke. She hummed quietly. “You passed out, I carried you to my home, my son and I cleaned up your wounds and bandaged you, and then I set you on my couch so that you could sleep,” She laid it all out simply.

Sans felt his mind freeze up and backtrack. “...u-uhh. ...r- ...really? uh. what’s his name,” He was trying to sound like he wasn’t actually losing his mind; he couldn’t tell if it was working or not. It was hard to be a normal person on purpose.

Toriel hummed. “Asriel,” She informed him. “Speaking of names, what is yours? Also… you called me Tori. ...How do you know the shortened version of my name?” Perhaps she shouldn’t have asked two questions at once, but she’d been _itching_ to get answers.

Sans was too busy reeling over the fact that _Asriel_ was still… still _alive. ...How._ How and why.

He had so many _questions._

For once, however, he managed to be smart. “i, uh…… d-dunno,” ...Smart-ish.

Toriel’s eyebrows raised. She was quiet for a moment. “...Did I ask too much of you too quickly, dear?” She had to refrain from asking a second question in a row. The skeleton seemed… tired, so perhaps he hadn’t properly heard her questions.

...She would have to take this slow.

There was no way he didn’t know his own name or knew why he knew Toriel’s name…

Right?

...Unless…

_Did he have amnesia?_

“...um. yeah. sorry,” He shifted uncomfortably and ended up discreetly rubbing at the bandages on his arms. It was so _uncomfortable…_ He was used to his clothes always being loose and baggy. The bandages felt _suffocating…_

Toriel smiled softly, shaking her head. “It is quite alright. I will go slow,” She hummed. When she noticed movement, she was quick to glance down and notice the way the skeleton scratched at his arms.

She didn’t stare, though, and looked back up at his face.

...He must be an active self-harmer.

She would need to keep an eye on him (of course, there was no way he would be leaving, after all). “Let’s start simple. ...Do you remember your own name, dear?” She asked, keeping her voice level, soft, and quiet.

Sans kept himself quiet a second after the question.

…Thank _stars_ Toriel always offered answers to her own questions. He felt a little bad about taking advantage of her soft side, the side that gave hints and encouraging notes, but… he wasn’t going to come up with anything better on his own. He’d apologize later… or not. It’d be better if he didn’t. “...n-no. sorry,” For lying about his own _damn name._

Toriel’s smile softened into something a little sadder. “...It is quite alright, dear. ...Hmm…” She considered asking more questions, but instead… “...What _do_ you remember, dear? Specifically, before you arrived in Asriel’s garden,” She asked, watching him closely.

Clearly, memory loss was a sign of amnesia, but she was currently trying to tap into her memory to remember the other signs; she hadn’t dealt with someone who had had amnesia in a _long_ time.

…

A _skeleton_ with amnesia, though…?

 _“that_ was _asriel!?”_ What the fuck. ...What the _fuck._ …...What _happened._ ...No. Forget what happened. How did he _leave!?_

...Fuck. He quickly realized his mistake; he held his breath. “s-sorry, sorry. ‘meant, uh. ...sorry. i-i meant no… o-offense,” Toriel was _protective._ And she wouldn’t _ever_ stand to have her children insulted. ...Well… that’s how she acted when they were _dead,_ so…

Toriel’s eyes had widened slightly at the exclamation (that was the loudest she had heard the skeleton before… ...his voice sounded _so_ familiar when she could hear it more clearly… ...what…?), but otherwise she stayed completely calm. She hummed and shook her head.

...Why had the skeleton had an outburst like that?

“...Mm… none taken. Please answer the question, though, if you can,” She kept her voice soft, but she was slightly tenser than before; the way he had had his outburst was… slightly disturbing.

Toriel wasn’t sure if the skeleton was just surprised that that had been her son, or… ...why did he say the name like he was aware of it, but perhaps had never seen Asriel before?

How could he possibly be aware of Asriel before now, though?

Things weren’t adding up, but Toriel supposed that was to be expected, considering there was a _skeleton in her living room._

Sans swallowed thickly. How was he supposed to answer!? He knew almost _exactly_ what he’d been doing before coming here, but that kind of insane story wouldn’t get him anywhere.

He didn’t have the time to think it over, but if he blurted something it’d just make an even bigger mess of things…! Not to mention the fact these guys were _humans._ She was just sitting there, but she was still putting him on edge.

He took a deep, shaky breath, and finally found his way out in the wave of dizziness and slight coil of sickness in his magic. “d-d’you have a- a bathroom.”

Toriel’s eyebrows raised.

The first thing that popped into her head was that the skeleton seemed to be ignoring her question, but the second thing…

_A skeleton needed to use the bathroom?_

...That didn’t make any sense.

She gave him a (mom) look. “...I do, but…” She glanced at his arms, then up to his face. She sighed and re-adjusted the way she was sitting; she straightened her back and looked much more… authoritative and regal.

She didn’t drop the look. “I have a few reasons as to why I currently would prefer you stay here. ...If you can answer some of my questions, dear, I will show you to the bathroom,” She was wary to let him use the bathroom at _all,_ but she knew nothing of this skeleton; this was bizarre enough as it was, so she supposed it wasn’t _too_ much more bizarre for the skeleton to need the bathroom, but… _god._

...She didn’t trust him yet, despite how much she already cared for his well-being.

...She didn’t want him to try and hurt (or kill) himself, either.

Not after she’d seen those cuts on his arms… no, she would not be allowing this skeleton to be alone for very long.

Sans blinked, thrown off by a sudden wave of nostalgia when he recognized her posture. He managed to shake it off halfway through her speech, though, so he could recognize that she was trying to keep him here for questioning. “...i’ll, uh, probably throw up on yer carpet, then,” He blurted the first excuse that he had. “...s-so…”

...She really did not want to be rude, but she couldn’t help but think, _how could a skeleton throw up?_

...But then again, she had _watched him_ drink water and take a pill (though… he hadn’t touched the food).

...Something was itching in the back of her mind; _why was his voice so familiar?_

“Hmm. Wait right here,” She said, then stood. She gave him a firm look. _“Do not move,”_ She repeated; she hated to scare her guests, but in this case… she decided it was necessary.

She didn’t give him a chance to respond before she was turning and leaving the room.

Sans had subconsciously leaned away from the look Toriel gave him, but slowly relaxed once she left the room. He stayed still, simply watching the direction she’d left for a long moment before sighing heavily.

...She told him not to move, but… ugh. He just wanted a chance to figure things out, dammit!

...Fine. Fine…

Look at the facts.

Everyone here was a human, Toriel was still Toriel, Asriel was still alive, and… that was it. That was all he knew.

...Wait… where was Asgore, then?

…...Was this the _ruins…?_

Sans swallowed thickly. He’s heard Toriel’s descriptions of the ruins before. After a quick scan of the room, he spotted a window.

...After looking back and forth between the hall and the window, he finally pushed himself to quickly stand and limp to the window. His soul was quietly buzzing with alarm.

Sans tried to limit his time in looking, but his attention had been snagged by the impressive tree outside. Bright, healthy… Asriel? Did he always care so much about plants…?

Sans idled too long by the window.

 

Toriel had quickly headed to a hall closet, and after a minute of rummaging, she managed to find an old, unused bucket; it had a few items in it, but she simply took them out and set them aside. She lifted the bucket; it was old, dusty, and the paint was a bit chipped, but it would do the trick.

She carried the blue bucket back to the living room but froze when she saw an empty couch. Her entire body tensed, but she was quickly relaxing when she looked up to see the skeleton by the window.

...She had _told him_ not to move, but… he seemed to just be looking outside. She couldn’t blame him for being curious about where he was. She sighed softly. “Dear? I do not believe you should be standing,” She was worried for his well-being and safety, but… she was glad he simply stayed in the room. That was proof enough that he wasn’t trying to escape, at least.

She walked in the rest of the way, keeping her eye on the skeleton as she set the bucket beside the couch before moving to sit in her seat again.

Sans flinched and whipped around when he suddenly heard Toriel’s voice; ...it seemed he’d been caught in the act. He slowly relaxed when he realized she wasn’t upset, though.

...Ugh, why would she be? This was Toriel and all he’d done was look out the damn window… He was too jumpy around humans, dammit…  
...He had a good reason to be, but jeez…

“uh… m’fine. it’s just standing. ya worry too much,” ...He’d answered with what he usually told his own Toriel. He slowly pulled his gaze back to the window.

Toriel raised an eyebrow. She looked over this skeleton for a moment, looking from his jacket back up to his skull. _“Blue;_ I am going to call you blue, because of your jacket color…” She clarified. _“Blue,_ you told me a minute ago that you were going to puke. You are covered in cuts and bruises and are clearly not well. ...Please, would you come sit?” ...She hadn’t shown too much worrying thus far, why had the skeleton said that she worried too much as if he knew her?

...Why was his voice so _familiar…?_

Toriel normally wouldn’t be so stern with someone, especially if they just wanted to look out the window, but _this skeleton was injured._ When it came to someone’s health and safety, she would always put that first.

...She didn’t want this skeleton to fall and hit his head. His head had already been injured enough. ...Especially if this skeleton had _amnesia,_ for god’s sake…

Sans sighed heavily; he thought about saying ‘make me’ but he knew from experience that Toriel would take that seriously.

He reluctantly turned and stuffed his hands into his pockets before limping back to the couch. “whatever ya say, m- ...m-mmmnn. uh. y-yeah,” That’d been his and Toriel’s running joke, but… he had a feeling that he shouldn’t really say it when she had an actual kid.

One eyebrow furrowed as the other one raised, her lips quirking just a bit at the skeleton’s stutter.

...What was that about…?

Regardless, she was happy that he sat. “Thank you for sitting, Blue. It’s much safer for you this way,” ...Oops, she was used to over-thanking and complimenting because she always made sure to state exactly why she’s thankful to Asriel. She hummed. “Now, you won’t need to run and puke in the bathroom,” She said, pointing a slim finger to the bucket beside Blue. “May we return to talking, dear?” ...Even though she wanted to give this skeleton- Blue- his rest, she also wanted answers so that she could relax and not be as worried. After all… she had a child to look after.

...Sans gave the bucket a long suffering look before finally just sighing. He’d managed to calm down a bit while she was gone anyway. “...ehh… fine.”

Toriel subconsciously noted the similarities between Blue and her own son. She hummed. “I would like an answer to my earlier question. Do you remember anything from before you arrived in Asriel’s garden?” She repeated once again. ...She was determined and persistent; she would ask until she got an answer.

...Asriel never got away with anything.

‘...not really. no. nothin’,” He’d almost blurted about having a brother, just for the heck of it. His own Toriel always loved hearing about the crazy things he got up to, but he’d told all the stories he had fast. ...It… it would be _fun_ to share them all again… “...sorry.”

Toriel watched him for a long moment before simply sighing. “...It is alright,” ...Either this skeleton had amnesia, or… he was lying.

Toriel hoped that for his mind’s sake, he was lying.

However, she hoped for his sake of where he currently was and who he was with… that he had amnesia.

If she found out that he was lying, well…

That would not be fun for anyone. “...How did you know my name, Blue?” That was the biggest thing that wasn’t adding up, in her mind.

Sans shrugged slightly. It was all he could do. “i just… uh. heh. knew,” _Wow_ that excuse was _beyond_ terrible. He rubbed his hand over the back of his neck, sighing slowly.

Toriel’s eyes narrowed. She watched Blue for a few long minutes, her lips thinning into a frown. _“Blue._ ...I do not like to accuse guests, but I think… that you are lying to me,” She sighed.

Why did everyone like to lie? Why couldn’t people be _honest?_ “...No matter the answer that you give me, I will not… kick you out, or hurt you, if you think that is the case,” ...There were thousands of assumptions she could make about how terribly injured Blue had gotten.

“...I would simply like the truth, dear. I am sure that you can understand why I am wary, right? I have a child to look out and care for,” She hummed. Hopefully… that would convince him to tell the truth.

Sans sighed. “...m’just… pff. i’m a, uh… honestly pathetic monster that’s covered in wounds. m’no robber, or… whatever yer afraid of-”

Toriel’s eyes had widened when Blue said that he was a monster, everything suddenly clicking into place. She was shocked into silence for a few moments, which allowed him to continue, before she quite rudely and accidentally interrupted him. _“Oh my God!_ You’re a _monster?!_ Oh, I am _so silly!_ She exclaimed, covering his mouth. “Oh, I am sorry for interrupting you, but it’s just-! Oh dearie me. I had been so _confused_ as to how you were-! _Oh my goodness!_ I do not know why it took me this long to realize…!” She shook her head at herself; she was even blushing slightly.

She looked up at Blue with a sheepish expression. “My goodness. I am sorry. Also, I know you are not a robber- goodness, no, and I’m not afraid!” Monsters, despite being the ones to lock humans Underground, were _nice._ Toriel knew that they had only been _fighting back_ in self-defense. After all, the humans _started the war._ Toriel had been lucky enough to have previously known monsters and had monster friends, but… goodness, that had been so long ago…

...She wondered if any of them were still alive.

She sighed quietly, giving Blue a soft, sad smile. “...Now that I know what you are… ah, goodness,” She was so relieved. “...However…” She didn’t finish her previous statement. “How did you end up here, Blue? Or… you said you didn’t know… _herm,”_ Now that she knew he was a monster, she was _more_ than curious.

She wanted to know what life was like on the surface, now!

She wanted to know about other monsters!

She wanted to know how Blue got here…

She sighed. She tried to think of how to continue, but she ended up trailing off, eyebrows furrowed in thought.

Sans swallowed thickly. He hadn’t realized his species itself had been unclear. “...w-where, uh… where is this, then…?”

Toriel was quiet for a moment as she straightened herself up and composed herself, taking a breath. “...This is my home. We are… well, as you should know, underground. The underground is vast; however, I live in the Ruins,” She explained. She really wished this skeleton- this _monster_ remembered more…!

 _“whatthefuck.”_ He muttered it under his breath, fully aware that Toriel wouldn’t tolerate _any_ cursing in her home. This was just weird enough that he was willing to risk her wrath.

Apparently, he _was_ in the underground. Just not the one he was used to.

...So the machine… sort of worked…? Apparently…

Toriel’s eyes widened. _“Language!”_ She almost immediately exclaimed, used to having to scold Asriel all of the time. After a moment, she paused and cleared her throat. “...I do not appreciate swearing in my household, if you do not mind, Blue,” If this were Asriel, he’d already be in big trouble.

“pff…” Despite the fact that he just got in trouble for swearing, a slight smile was tugging at his mouth. “aw. but it’s how i express my intense emotions. c’mon…” He didn’t care if he could curse or not. He just wanted to start a debate with Toriel. ...He missed her.

Toriel paused, but then a slight smile tugged at her own lips. Something about this monster was just so… _familiar._

Still, she shook her head. “There are better ways at expressing emotions, silly!” She exclaimed, then clasped her hands in her lap. “You can paint- for instance, Asi- oh, Asriel draws and gardens!” She hummed. “I like to cook. There are many, _healthy_ ways to cope with intense emotions,” She said that a little more seriously, giving Blue a look.

She paused, then cleared her throat and continued. “Swearing never has to be a part in that. I am sure you can find something much better and more productive!” She said with a small smile.

Asriel was sounding more like a teenage, angry version of Asgore. “pff. i have no hobbies. this is _skullduggery,”_ If she didn’t react to this joke, she was dead to him.

Toriel paused, but then her eyes widened as she covered her mouth with her hands as she giggled. “Oh my goodness! Was that- was that-!” _That was a skeleton pun!_ “I-I believe that… that you are telling a _fibula!”_ She said, grinning from ear to ear as she dropped her hands. “You _have_ to have _some_ kind of hobby…!” She exclaimed.

...He had to have some kind of healthy hobby, right…? Other than self-harm…?

That shouldn’t even count as a hobby…

Sans felt the grin already stretching across his face (he just now noticed the bandage on his face; it was easy to ignore in the face of what he was doing, though). “does being _humerus_ count as a hobby?”

Toriel actually snorted and was quick to cover her mouth again as her cheeks tinted red. She opened her mouth to continue, but suddenly… her eyes widened and she looked at Blue in something akin to horror for a long moment. “W-w-wait,” She stuttered, squinting at him. Her heart began to race. She swallowed thickly.

Wait…

“You… you _can’t_ be…” She was gaping, but her mouth was still covered. “...That’s impossible…” She whispered. ...He sounded… just like… the man… she joked with… through the Ruins door…

_...How was that possible?_

It would be impossible for him to be a monster, too…!

But… the jokes… the way he sounded when he was telling a joke… all self-satisfied and…!  
 _How was this possible?_

Sans had initially felt that self-satisfied pride when she snorted, but when she suddenly turned so _serious_ and almost… _afraid…?_

He swallowed thickly, his grin quickly dropping and growing tight. He felt the sudden urge to bolt and pretend this never happened. “...c- ...can’t be what? uh… heh. w-what’s up…?”

Toriel’s mind was _racing._

Their voices sounded exactly the _same…!_

But she’s never told the man from the door her name.

How would that man even get to Asriel’s garden?!

How could that man be a _skeleton monster?!_

She didn’t even know his _name_ so she couldn’t ask but _god,_ what…?!

She took a deep breath and tried to compose herself.

She looked at Blue skeptically, dropping her hand. “...Forgive me, um… it’s just,” She swallowed thickly. “...I have this friend… we tell knock-knock jokes through a door,” She explained slowly, watching closely for an expression of recognition on Blue’s face. “...You sound… _exactly_ like him when he’s telling a joke, but… it’d be _impossible_ for a few reasons. You’re a skeleton- a skeleton _monster,_ and… there’s _no way_ you would have- or _he_ would have been able to… to get to Asriel’s garden. This makes no sense, I’m sorry, you just… _sound exactly like him,”_ ...Perhaps it was… somehow a coincidence…?

_But they sounded exactly the same…_

Sans had frozen up the moment she said ‘I have this friend’. He’d been stuck in silence the entire time, trying to get his mind under control so he could _actually respond._ She would stop talking eventually, he knew; years alone in the ruins made her more talkative and desperate for socialization, but at the same time it made her more anxious.

...Right?

...That didn’t matter right now. He was supposed to be responding.

“...u-uh- uhm. heh. probably a coincidence. d-dunno who yer talking about. s- ...sorry,” He said under his breath, a bit nervously.

Toriel was silent for a long moment, before she sighed and nodded, then shook her head, rubbing her face. “Yes, yes, of course… it is okay, dear, I’m sorry- I am foolish for thinking…” She trailed off, then sighed, lifting her head and giving Blue a soft, sheepish smile. “...I am sorry for my outburst, dear. I suppose your voices just sound eerily similar. ...Again, my apologies,” She said sincerely.

Though… this monster and her friend loved jokes- specifically puns… and… yet…?

...Toriel was confused. She probably wouldn’t stop being confused for a while. She tried to think of how to continue, but she didn’t get the chance.

 

“h-hey, uh… you aren’t- you aren’t foolish. heh…. far from it,” He said quietly. She especially wasn’t foolish if she managed to guess who Sans was based off his voice and jokes alone. “uh. but yeah. anyway. ...moving on…?” His voice was still quiet.

...He could meet… his _human self_ here…?

...He didn’t think he _wanted to._

Toriel took a deep breath, nodding and straightening herself out as she composed herself. “Yes…” She trailed off in thought. Was there anything else she could ask…? “...So… you have no idea how you ended up in the Underground, Blue?” She double-checked.

...How could a monster just… randomly appear in the Underground…?

Sans shrugged and shook his head. ‘How he ended up here’ had been through a faulty machine and a trip through time and space. She’d never believe that. It was hard for plenty of people to believe it when the first human fell back in his own world; nobody was aware of any holes in their prison. It’d caused a huge panic.

...Wait…

Frisk had _fallen._ From the _surface._

_...Where exactly were monsters here?_

Toriel obviously recognized his species, so monsters were here _somewhere,_ but… “um. ...w-where are all the other monsters…?” He asked quietly.

Toriel blinked. Then, her eyebrows furrowed with concern as her lips formed a thin line.  
If Blue did not know where he came from… then something was seriously wrong. “...Um… the surface. ...What _happened_ to you…?” The question was more of a whisper and directed at herself; she knew he couldn’t answer, but _goodness!_ How could he not remember where he _came from?_ This was not good…

...Toriel would just simply take it upon herself to watch over and care for this monster.  
She was now dead-set on it. “...All of Monsterkind are on the surface. ...Do you not know of your history, either? ...The reason humans are Underground, I mean,” She watched him closely.

Sans swallowed thickly and slowly shook his head.

...All of monsterkind… was on the _surface!?_

…

_What._

_The fuck._

“h-heh… wanna… tell me about it…?” His voice was permanently quiet.

…

Toriel was beyond worried for this poor, innocent soul. “...Oh goodness…” She took a deep breath and straightened up a bit, hands clasped in her lap as she watched Blue closely. “...Many, many years ago, humans and monsters got into a war,” She explained. “The battle was long and… horrifying, but the monsters won and… locked us humans underground,” She was trying to see any hints of recognition in Blue’s face. “It has been… hundreds of years, by now,” ...There really was not much more she could say about it without getting into the nitty-gritty details.

“...a-and the lives lost?” He asked quietly, a little nervous. Were monsters somehow _stronger_ here? In his own war, not a single human soul was taken. Monsters were the only ones to have casualties.

...What were the monsters like on the surface…!?

Were they bigger? Just……? 

Toriel’s expression turned much grimmer. “...Let us just say… many,” It had been too long for her to remember, but she didn’t _want_ to remember the exact amount; way too many people had died in that war. “...On both sides,” Not many people had _truly_ wanted to fight; a lot of people gave up their lives in favor of harming people they loved.

Sans slowly rubbed his hand over his face. ...Monsters _were_ stronger here. “...and now… what’s- what do the, uh, humans… humanity… what’s everybody think of monsters now…? uh, guess you wouldn’t- wouldn’t know about that… u-uh… nevermind…” His voice was hardly above a whisper.

Ugh… why did Toriel have to seal herself away in the ruins?

…

Why _did_ she seal herself away in the ruins here?

Toriel sighed. “I am sure that my ex-husband has spread enough rumors about your kind by now that no one is aware that your species were not the ones to blame for this war,” She said. “I really am not too sure, though; there are only a few humans in the Ruins, and for some reason, they avoid me,” She sighed. “...I have not heard anything about monsters, though, for many, many years. That is probably why I did not realize you were a monster sooner. …Again, my apologies,” She said sincerely, again.

...Blue probably should sleep more, Toriel thought. Whatever had happened to him, he had been through a lot.

“it’s, uh, it’s okay,” Sans leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, but the movement made the bandages shift against his bones. He huffed and rubbed at the bandages on his arms again. These were going to bug him the entire time he had them… Ugh. “...so why haven’t ya heard anything,” He might as well try and get some more answers… It was all he could do.

Toriel frowned, both at the way Blue scratched at his bandages and at the question. She sighed. “I have not been in the loop for many years. ...I…” She paused, then sighed and shook her head. “I would rather not discuss why,” She did not want to bring up her ex-husband.

Dammit. “that’s, uh, fine,” He tried to think of another question, but… his mind was slowly shutting down. “...didja have ta use so many bandages?” He finally couldn’t help complaining. They were so _restricting._

Toriel hummed and nodded. “...Yes. You had many cuts and bruises; I am glad that I got to you in time… you may not have made it, otherwise,” She sighed quietly. “The bandages will need to stay on for some time,” She informed him; she had a feeling that he was scratching at them because he wanted them off.

...If he remembered nothing of his life…

Would he still want to self-harm?

...She would still keep an eye on him, regardless.

Sans froze when she said ‘cuts’, two very obvious things finally clicking in place. He rubbed a little rougher at the bandages for a second before he forced his hand away completely. “uh. heh. um. right. ...anyway. i’m, uhhh… sorry fer… the trouble…?”

Worry had flared inside of Toriel when she noticed how roughly he rubbed at the bandages, but when he was suddenly apologizing for being trouble, she quickly shook her head and clicked her tongue. _“No!_ Blue, dear, you are not trouble whatsoever! I am happy to have found you and helped. Do not ever, _ever_ think that you are or were or ever will be any trouble. You are safe and welcome here, Blue,” She told him sincerely.

“...h-heh. um. thanks,” There was really no use in arguing with her. He knew how she got with people’s health.

“anyway,” He was saying that a lot lately. “unless ya had some other question ta ask i’m….. kinda tired…?” He just wanted out of this conversation.

Toriel nodded. “I was going to suggest that you go back to sleep, actually,” She said, then paused, glancing at the uneaten food. ...She looked back up to Blue. “...Are you unable to eat, um… human food?” ...It had been so long… she could hardly remember whether or not humans and monsters could share the same food…? It would be bad if Blue couldn’t eat her food; what was she going to do?

“no idea, but… probably not. i’m uh, literally made of magic. and bones. and there’s… no magic in that. it’s… pff. yeah,” It was kind of gross, honestly, how human food looked and smelled. He didn’t know how to describe it, but the thought of eating it was just… ew. “uh… ya wouldn’t happen ta have… some convenient stash of monster food somewhere, would ya…”

Toriel shook her head. “...I… I do not,” She admitted reluctantly.

...What was she going to do…?

Wait.

Magic.

Hmm…

“...Though.” She tilted her head. She had no idea how to make monster food, but she probably could. She looked at Blue for a long moment. “...Do you know how to make monster food? ...I know some magic, so I could probably figure it out,” …‘Some magic’ was an understatement.

“uhh, i mean- ...wait. what,” Everything just kept getting worse and worse. “s-since, heh, since when do humans know magic?” He was going to _die_ here.

Toriel paused. She re-adjusted the way she sat. “Not many humans know magic, in fact…” She was quiet for a moment. “...I believe my ex-husband and I are the only humans left with the ability to use and wield magic,” She explained. After a moment, she sighed; she supposed if she wanted to make sense, she would just have to be honest. “...I am a sorcerer,” She didn’t really consider herself a sorcerer, but… it was a part of her. “Though, I have not used much magic in a long time, because I simply have not needed it.”

“…….oh. great. uh, ok,” It was hard to be surprised at this point. He tried to be much more discreet in rubbing at his bandages as he spoke. “well, uh, i guess we can… try and make something later. or something.”

Toriel hummed and nodded. “Yes… do you know anything specific that I can put together while you are sleeping, dear?” She asked, standing and smoothing out her dress before looking up at Blue with a smile.

Sans sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. It took a second, but he managed to recall some of the things he’s seen his own Toriel make.

He listed off some… vague directions, but directions nonetheless. It wasn’t that hard… for a monster. He had no idea how Toriel would accomplish it.

Once he finished speaking, he slowly allowed himself to lean back into the couch, exhaustion weighing him down.

Toriel listened to Blue’s ideas, mentally making a note of them.

When he was done and lying down, Toriel hummed. “...I will get right on that. If you need anything, anything at all, please simply shout, alright?” She said, then gave him a stern look. “I do not want you leaving this couch for anything, okay?” She said, then pointed to the bucket. “If you need to puke, you may do so in that. I do not want you wandering around and getting hurt. Am I understood?” She said sternly and motherly.

Sans huffed. “m’not gonna keel over n’dust the second i stand up… jeez,” He muttered. Toriel almost seemed _more_ worried and protective here. And Asriel was still _alive._ What’d he miss…? “c’mon… i can _stand.”_

Toriel’s expression only hardened. _“Blue,”_ She said warningly. “You are not to get up without supervision. Am. I. Clear?” She wasn’t going to risk any accidents. Blue was already hurt enough as it was; what if one more hit _killed_ him? Or as he said… dusted. The thought sounded terrible.

Toriel would not be backing down.

Sans gave her a long suffering look before finally sighing. “right. ...just, uh… wake me if you need anything…?” He began the long process of trying to get comfortable while being covered in bandages and wounds.

Toriel hummed and nodded. “...Of course,” Though, she doubted she would be needing him for anything. “Sleep well, dear, alright?” She said, finally giving him a soft smile. “Is there anything else you need?”

Sans shook his head and laid facing the back of the couch, curling up and pulling the blanket up around his shoulders (the blanket was _huge_ on him).

Toriel simply nodded and left, going about her business.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading! please leave a comment if you're enjoying this story because it really motivates us to keep writing it and it motivates us to post a new chapter every week! and honestly, we might post earlier depending on the demand. we were debating between 7 days vs 5 days, and currently we chose 7 days (days between posting; y'know, updating weekly vs updating every 5 days).   
> but yeah.  
> thanks again!
> 
> stop by our tumblr, if you want! https://www.spaceyauthors.tumblr.com
> 
> -frisk
> 
> i still exist and i love you all so much thanks for reading <3  
> -nex


	4. filled up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans has some... problems.  
> Toriel helps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS A REALLY SHORT FILLER CHAPTER and i hope to heck you get the multi-pun chapter title after you finish reading this.
> 
> ANYWAY, ENJOY! 
> 
> EDIT: i seemed to have a formatting error! it should be fixed now, but please let me know if you see any weird < em > or < / em > 's!!!!
> 
> EDIT 2: all of the spacing and formatting should be fixed. sorry about that if anyone clicked on this before i fixed it!
> 
> -frisk

Sans had ended up sleeping for a _long_ time; almost an entire day, Toriel told him.

He’d only been able to shrug and call himself lazy, but internally he called himself _weak,_ because he wasn’t _that_ hurt, for fuck's sake.

The food Toriel made tasted strange and a little unpleasant, but it was food and there was no way he was going to pass it up.

He’d stayed on the couch another day until he found himself waking up in the middle of the night. Everyone else was asleep and insomnia had finally come back to haunt him. He simply stared at the couch or the ceiling for a while, mostly because he didn’t want to move.

When he finally did move, it was because he remembered Toriel had books; _old_ books, specifically. He needed to figure out the history of this place.

Apparently, monsters had been the victims in the war, despite winning. They sealed humans underground with a magic spell, blah blah blah, finding their way through the darkness, etc, building up, making progress…

He didn’t really find anything he didn’t already know.

...But _fuck_ he was jealous of his kin on the surface… enjoying the moon… looking at the stars… No. They probably weren’t even looking at the sky. He knew they took it for granted.

...It wasn’t _fair…_

…

Sans vaguely remembered a bright light after waking up here- and it wasn’t just the flowers reflecting artificial light; he was almost _sure_ of what he saw.

...Ugh… he wanted to go back and check.

...With the limp he held, though, he _knew_ he wouldn’t make it (it was still hard to keep himself from trying).

Eventually he just… returned all the books to their places and returned to sleep.

The next morning, he’d woken quietly only to immediately roll over and vomit heavily into the bucket; his breathing was harsh and unsteady.

...Was it the food Toriel made…?

 

* * *

 

 

Over the course of the next two days, Toriel had gone about her time checking up on Blue as he slept, making monster food to the best of her abilities, and simply… doing what she would normally do.

She made sure to check on Asriel many times (much to his annoyance) and inform him of everything going on. He’d been rather quiet, and when Toriel asked about it, he had snapped and said he was ‘fine’ and to ‘leave it alone’.

Toriel could only sigh; she missed her sweet, little boy.

Regardless, Toriel didn’t let it deter her as she continued her routine.

She ended up making and re-making monster food, stocking up on it so she would have pre-made food just in case.

It was the third morning of Blue’s stay (he’d been sleeping so much…! Toriel had been quite worried, but she checked up on him quite a bit), and Toriel had just been shuffling out of her room when she heard noise. She frowned; it sounded like…?

She entered the living room and paused when she noticed Blue leaning over the side of the couch and… vomiting.

...So that _hadn’t_ been an excuse; he really _could_ vomit.

She shook her head of the thought and was quickly shuffling forward. “Oh, Blue…! Are you alright?” She almost went to put her hand on his forehead, but then realized that he probably didn’t even have a temperature.

...She couldn’t resist glancing in the bucket.

…

_There was bright blue, glowing vomit._

...Well, then.

At least it didn’t look disgusting like human vomit tended to.

Sans ended up snorting weakly. “ _blue…_ yep… gh…” He muttered, then slowly lowered himself back onto the couch, his arms wrapped around himself as he tried to soothe the uncomfortable coil of sickness in him. “peachy…”

Toriel frowned. “I will get you some water and medicine. Take deep breaths, dear,” Despite having just woken up, Toriel had already gone full-mom caretaker mode. She straightened out her back and tightened her robe, quickly heading to the kitchen.

She grabbed a cup of water and a pill (she’d been careful to never bring the bottle of pills to Blue; from those self-harm scars, she never wanted him to have access to an entire pill bottle) and brought it back to the living room.

She moved to where his head was. “Can you sit up, dear?” She asked softly, kneeling beside the couch. She had the cup and pill in one hand as her other hand gently reached out to touch Blue’s shoulder.

Sans had fully planned on staying down until he realized Toriel was about to touch him; he quickly forced himself up in a slight panic. The self-hatred hit him a second later; he honestly _was_ an idiot for always being so jumpy around humans… This was _Toriel._

He sighed and just held out his hands for the water and pills (he tried to still his slight shaking to no avail).

Toriel frowned and withdrew her hand when Blue was so quick to sit up. ...Did he not like being touched? He had only moved so quickly when she’d gotten so close… before then, he hadn’t moved an _inch._

She swallowed thickly but kept her back straightened out and her expression neutral. “Thank you, dear,” She put the pill in the palm of her free hand and held both the glass and pill out to Blue; she was a little worried that he wouldn’t be able to drink it without spilling, due to his shaking, but… if that happened, she would simply clean it up.

She was only worried about _Blue’s_ sake (it would be terrible to spill cold water on yourself after puking, after all!).

Sans made it a point to brush against Toriel’s hand when taking the water and pill from her, just to try and get himself to calm down and fuck off. He hated himself _so much._

The moment he felt warm skin, he was quickly pulling the items back to himself and pushing down the sick, nervous fluttering in his soul. Skin just felt so _wrong_ to him.

He took the pill and downed the rest of the glass, bitterly wishing it was alcohol. He silently held the glass out to Toriel, making sure his hand wasn’t in the way.

Toriel quietly waited, and when he was done, she gently took the glass from him. “...There you go, love,” She said, then paused and blinked. Oops, she called Asriel ‘love’ rather often; it just slipped out of habit (she was still tired from just waking up, after all).

She cleared her throat and stood, glancing at the bucket. “I will go and wash that out before returning it,” She hummed before looking back up at Blue with a small smile. “Rest, alright? I will be back in no time to check up on you,” She hummed.

“...yeah,” He muttered. Sans lowered himself back down to the couch, pulling the huge blanket over his shoulders before rolling over to face the back of the couch.

How was he supposed to deal with his stupid fear of humans _here?_

...And apparently, there were more. _Way_ more if it was anything like the population in his own Underground.

Ugh…

He just… wanted to sleep. Just… he would sleep.

Toriel watched him for a long moment before she simply turned, grabbed the bucket with her free hand, and left; she first went to the kitchen to put the cup in the sink before she turned and headed off to the bathroom.

She carefully dumped the _magical_ vomit, she realized, into the toilet, before flushing it down the drain.

She then brought the bucket to the tub and cleaned it out with soap and water. She dried it and then quietly brought it back out to the living room, setting it besides Blue’s head once more on the floor; hopefully, he wouldn’t need it again.

Then, she turned and went back to the kitchen; she began to make breakfast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyo! oh man... this chapter is really short and nothing really important happens.
> 
> the next chapter, though... oh boy. the next chapter, the angsty teenager makes another appearance! it's very plot-filled and i cannot wait for you all to get to read it! :D (it was incredibly fun to write!)
> 
> please comment if you enjoyed or if you would like to see more from this story! seriously, even though we have a few chapters already written out, time moves fast. your comments motivate us to stay ahead of the game with the writing! 
> 
> thank you so much! see you next week! :D
> 
> btw, check out our tumblr or shoot us a message! ...we're not really on it much, but it'd be a way to get in contact with us! 
> 
> https://www.spaceyauthors.tumblr.com
> 
> ...i'll figure out how to make the embedding link work again someday.
> 
> bye!
> 
> -frisk


	5. The Golden Children

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flowey sneaks out. Sans follows.  
> Angst ensues.  
> Woohoo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [scream-muttering to myself}  
>  _shitfuckshitfuckdicksshitfuckFUCKIFORGOTTOUPLOADONTHURSDAY-!!_
> 
> COUGH. heLLO. IM SO sorry for this being a few days late OMG. i just. y'know. lack of motivation. depression. laziness? all that fun stuff. for some reason it felt like way too much work to sit and select all of the text of this long ass chapter so that i could copy it and then upload it...
> 
> also i started worrying about quality of content cough cough-
> 
>  
> 
> _whatever this is a freakin rp it's not gonna be heckin perfect-_
> 
>  
> 
> ANYWAY. enjoy this late heckin chapter jeez sorry again. as long as i format chap 6 like soon, i sHould be updating that on thursday
> 
> (also btw nex and i have school now- well i start on wednesday, they started awhile ago- so we don't get to rp as much which might result in more delays in the future... right now was just me failing at uploading)
> 
> ANYWAY. ENJOY. WOO.
> 
> -frisk

Ever since that first night that he and his mother had brought that _skeleton_ to their home, Flowey had been… reluctant to leave his room.

It had only been his mother and his hunger that forced him out of there; as well as the need to use the bathroom and keep up with hygiene.

He had found out the first night that this skeleton (that his mom was calling ‘Blue’, due to his jacket) was actually a _monster._ He had freaked out at first (his dad used to talk about how terrible the monsters were, and despite the fact he was around five at the time, he _remembered),_ but his mom had gone on to properly explain the history of everything that happened.

...Flowey had been uneasy and reluctant to believe that monsters were the _victims_ and were actually _nice,_ but… his mom had been so _sure,_ and…

Well, she was usually right about things, even if he hated that she was.

Despite all of the information he was given, though, he still didn’t want to interact with this _monster._ So, he had only left his room when he _knew_ the monster was sleeping, and he was always careful to avoid his waking.

His mom wasn’t happy about it (“You really ought to talk to him! I know, Asi, he destroyed your flowers, but I do not believe he meant to. You have to learn to forgive people, remember? You cannot hold a grudge forever. Please, Asriel, you must have an open mind; you’ll never feel better if you don’t _clear the air.”),_ but Flowey simply… ignored it.

He felt guilty, but he didn’t show it and he’d constantly shoved it down.

When Flowey wasn’t hiding in his room or reluctantly helping his mother with whatever chore, he was in his garden; he had actually ended up crying beside his damaged flowers. It was quiet and sad, but it happened.

After his grieving, though… he, more or less, tried to _save them._

He’d even quietly left the house each and every night to go to his flowers.

~~~

It was the third night with the monster in the house (that Flowey had successfully avoided), and Flowey was quietly sneaking out of his room.

He checked on his mom (sound asleep), before heading to the living room. He was carrying his shoes in his hands.

He looked at the couch; the skeleton monster, Blue or whatever, seemed to be sleeping. Flowey took a quiet breath before he turned for the door; before leaving, though, he carefully and quietly pulled on his shoes. He looked around one last time before opening the door as quietly as possible and… leaving, the door shutting softly behind him.

He began the journey to his garden.

\---

Sans had been suffering through a night of insomnia for the first time since arriving here (he never thought he’d be _grateful_ to his wounds, but here he was) and had recently managed to fall into a light doze, but quickly snapped out of it when he heard the door suddenly opening. He quickly whipped his head around to see behind him, extinguishing his eye lights at the last second.

...Asriel…?

He blinked when the door closed and didn’t move for a few long seconds. ...What was that little freak doing…? It was the middle of the night…!

…

Sans eventually found himself quietly slipping off the couch and stretching with a wince.

He kept his eyes dark and moved to the window, but all he saw was Asriel’s back as he walked passed the tree and away from the house.

He idled there for a moment before finally… finding his own shoes and quietly opening the door and limping outside.

His gaze was suddenly drawn to a bright yellow light and he froze. ...It almost looked like the light he’d woken up to when he first arrived here.

…

He stayed frozen there for a long moment, trapped in indecision before eventually turning in a quiet panic to catch up with Asriel; he didn’t know what that was and… he had a distinct feeling it wouldn’t be moving from that spot anytime soon, unlike Asriel. ...Scientist’s intuition. Or something.

He followed Asriel, making sure to keep as far away from him as he could while keeping his footsteps quiet and his eye lights dark.

His limp had gotten _bad_ by the time he finally saw Asriel stop.

Sans stumbled a little and quietly lowered himself to crouch beside a wall and watch. His curiosity was _burning._

_What was he doing!?_

Flowey was crouched in front of his flowers, his arms outstretched and eyes closed in concentration. He took slow, deep breaths as he focused as hard as he possibly could.

After a few minutes, he began to sweat. It was a struggle to keep his anger and impatience inside of him so that this would work; he needed to be peaceful for this.

It took some time (it was _agonizingly_ slow), but Flowey suddenly jumped, falling backwards and landing on his butt as his eyes widened when a bright light flashed.

...That was all it was.

If anything worked, it’d happened too fast for him to see.

Flowey frowned and sighed, rubbing his face in frustration.

...Well… that was progress.

It hadn’t worked _once_ before…!

After a moment, Flowey cleared his throat and sat cross-legged, outstretching his arms again and closing his eyes, concentrating once more; with the excitement bubbling up inside him at the fact that something had finally _worked…_ he was able to have a small smile on his face and stay much more patient.

It took a few more minutes, but when another _spark_ appeared, Flowey was quick to open his eyes.

It lasted for a split second, but he _saw it!_

All of his flowers stood up high, looking healthy and alive again, but they had immediately fallen back down to their crumbled and dull state.

Flowey felt a mix of excitement, happiness, and… sadness. He just wanted his flowers to be _alive_ again, come _on…_

He was beginning to feel lightheaded.

He took a deep breath, wiping sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

He coughed roughly a few times; he was shaking.

...Still, though, he put his arms out once again, closing his eyes and concentrating once more.

He was dizzy, so it was hard to concentrate.

As time went on, Flowey’s breathing became more rough, his heart was pounding and he could feel his limbs weakening. His eyebrows were furrowed and it _wasn’t working anymore,_ and he _just wanted it to work._

It was about five minutes later before he couldn’t keep up his concentration; he dropped his arms and took a harsh breath. “Just wo- _ork,_ d-dammit!” Flowey cursed, voice cracking as he roughly wiped at a few tears that rolled down his cheeks. His chest was heaving and he couldn’t _breathe._ He stared at his flowers pitifully, still breathing hard.

It took a minute, but he managed to calm slightly (despite still sweating and breathing hard), and he lightly reached out a hand to gently stroke the petals of one his flowers. “...I’m _gonna_ fix you… I _promise…_ I-I’m n-not- not g-gonna… not gonna g-give up on you…” He muttered roughly and sincerely to his flowers.

He was shaking.

He sighed heavily and buried his face in his hands, taking deep breaths.

Even though he would love to stay out here and keep _trying_ until he _got it right,_ he knew he would be no use to his flowers if he hurt himself too badly.

So, with shaking legs, Flowey carefully pushed himself to stand. He wiped at a few more tears as he looked down at his flowers, taking deep breaths. He swallowed thickly. “...I’ll be back tomorrow,” He murmured; he went as far as to give his flowers a small, shaky wave. He glanced over at the rock nearby that had slightly risen dirt.

He’d buried the flower that that _skeleton_ had so _rudely_ murdered by ripping it out of the ground.

He sighed heavily, shook his head, and rubbed his eyes.

He turned around and left, his eyes down.

He went home and slept off his pain.

Sans had silently watched Asriel for a long while, not moving an inch; his legs went to sleep after awhile, but he still didn’t move. It was only when a bright flash of light made him flinch that he finally managed to realize what was going on.

...Asriel was trying to use magic. It looked painful, too.

…

The way he saw Asriel completely shifted all at once.

Sans slowly and quietly moved to sit cross legged on the ground, leaning against the wall with his head turned toward Asriel. He simply let himself feel the guilt (there was _a lot_ of it) and watch, silently cheering him on.

The second time he saw the magic flash, he’d been ready, and managed to feel it as well. ...It was powerful magic, but… it’s almost like it was muted. Not to mention how it only came in short bursts.

He stayed like that until Asriel’s breathing was harsh and his body was shaking; it wasn’t until he suddenly heard him talking that Sans was quickly getting up with more than a little muted panic.

Asriel would _kill him_ if he found him here, and Toriel would never find out and he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

He was quick to unsteadily limp back a room and hide, holding his breath. A minute later Asriel walked by and… he didn’t see him.

…

That was _terrifying._

Once he was sure he was alone, Sans let out a long, shaky breath and finally let himself relax.

…

...He walked back to Asriel’s garden and sat next to the flowers. They looked almost exactly how they did when Sans had crushed them, maybe a little more… dead…

...Wow, that was a lot of guilt.

…

Ugh.

He wasn’t even sure if he could heal plants of all things… Did he even have the magic to pull it off? Probably not. Would he do it anyway? ...Probably. Actually, yes.

Sans sighed heavily and carefully leaned forward, gently laying his hands on the flowerbed (he was sure to be gentle with the flowers).

...Surely Asriel would just think… his magic worked overnight…?

…

Sans sighed and simply got to work, feeding his own tired healing magic into the plants. ...This reminded him of all the times he would do things behind Papyrus’s back to help him out. Make it seem like it all happened as a coincidence…

...What was he even doing…?

By the time Sans was done, he’d ruined himself even more than Asriel. He was shaking and breathing hard and had officially earned himself the title of “idiot” for the nth fucking time. He just… didn’t care about himself.

He eventually got himself to stand up and limp from the room, leaning heavily against walls the entire way back.

His vision was blurring and… had his magic even helped the flowers? He thought they looked a little better, but his mind had been so _exhausted_ and _out of it_ that… maybe he’d just imagined it from hoping so much. He didn’t know…

He didn’t have the energy to deal with the shiny… whatever that was, in front of Toriel’s house.

When he finally made it back, he collapsed with only his torso on the couch before passing out completely.

_God, everything hurt._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aNd thErE's tHe anGsT WOOHOO  
> i hardly remember this we wrote it so long ago-  
> all i remember is writing flowey being an angsty shit and trying to heal his _babies_  
>  PFF. god. what am i. who am i. what am i thinking half the time-  
> it's 8am and i haven't slept.  
> i hope you enjoyed this chapter.  
> p l e a s e leave a comment below if you enjoyed and if you wanna see more. 'cause like. that's the only thing that's gonna motivate us to continue this.
> 
> but yeah. also nex is asleep so therefore they have nothing to contribute to the notes because i can't ask them so you're all stuck with just me in the notes for this chapter.  
> pff.  
> god.  
> THANKS FOR READING I LOVE YOU PEOPLE.  
> oh ho ho right also u should totes check out our tumblr there's like nothing there but feel free to follow/message us/etc  
> https://www.spaceyauthors.tumblr.com
> 
> thank u lovely people
> 
> -frisk


	6. It's. Fucking. Flowey.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toriel and Flowey (Asriel?) get into a fight.  
> Sans is uncomfortable.  
> Toriel checks up on Sans and his wounds.
> 
> TW for negative LGBT+ related topics.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY. i think updates are gonna be more like sundays now just because school started and it's been hard for me to get on to update during the school week. if you've checked our tumblr (same username as our ao3), you would see that i posted an apology about not getting this next chapter out sooner...  
> so, yeah, updates are gonna be consistent but not perfect; expect them on the weekends from now! i'll have to change the summary where i put that we update every thursday...  
> ANYWAY.  
> THIS CHAPTER IS VERY LONG.  
> let's see with 5 chapters we had 14,300 words? let's see how many we'll have after this is uploaded...  
> but YEAH. this was a super fun chapter to write on my end and i'm super excited for all of you to read it! :D  
> enjoy!!  
> edit: this heckin' chapter is like... i think it's exactly 7,696 words if i added in my head correctly. jesus. that's. a lot of words for one chapter, omg.
> 
> -frisk

The next morning, Toriel was yawning quietly and rubbing her eyes as she headed out to the living room, her slippered feet scuffling softly against the floor. Her robe trailed on the floor behind her, the fabric making the softest noise as it brushed the wooden floor. Her eyes had water slightly from yawning, but then she sighed lightly afterward and simply tugged at her robe’s tie, hunching just a bit as she pulled it around her more; it was a chilly morning.

She had simply planned on checking on Blue before going to make herself a hot drink; she had looked at him, and almost turned to keep walking, but then her eyes widened and she was quickly looking back at him, her brain quickly waking up as alarm shot through her whole body.

“Blue!” She exclaimed worriedly, quickly scurrying over and kneeling beside him, a hand pressing against his back. “Oh goodness, what happened…?!” She looked him over; at least he was _breathing,_ but _goodness_ he looked _terrible!_

What happened last night?!

He didn’t seem to even stir, but…  
...At least there wasn’t a pile of dust.

Toriel took a deep breath and carefully lifted Blue up onto the couch, lying him back against the pillow and pulling the blanket up and over him.

Out of habit, she pressed the back of her hand against Blue’s forehead; she blinked in surprise when it was actually _warm._

Did that mean the same thing as it meant for humans?

Goodness, she wished that she had a medical guide about skeleton monsters… Or any monsters, really.

She took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose, straightening out her back. She was going to have a full-on meltdown if people kept getting hurt around here!

She composed herself and dropped her arms to her sides. She turned and headed for the kitchen, quickly whipping up some monster food; she also grabbed a glass of water, a pill, and… she wet a paper towel, just in case Blue’s warm forehead meant the same thing as it did for humans.

She had to bring the water, food, and the pill out first; she set everything on the coffee table before she turned and grabbed the paper towel from the kitchen.

When she came back, she gently wiped at Blue’s face before smoothing it out over his forehead, hoping to cool him down.

When she was finally finished, she straightened up and looked over everything.

...Blue was still sleeping.

She sighed heavily.

Surely he would be alright…?

She rubbed her face, shook her head, and turned back for the kitchen; she needed food to function.

~~~

Toriel quickly whipped up breakfast for herself (Asriel generally didn’t leave his room until noon, so she always made food for him later), ate it relatively fast, and then moved back to the living room.

She sat in her rocking chair, grabbed a book, and simply… kept an eye on Blue.

Normally, she would be doing other things, but… she wanted to be here when he woke up.

…

_She wanted to find out just what the **hell** he had been doing last night!_

~~~

Sans was out cold for a long while. It was a while passed noon when he finally shifted for the first time in hours before managing to slowly force his eyes to open. Everything was blurry for a while before he eventually managed to get a good look at the ceiling.

…

 _Wow_ that hurt _a lot._

Sans shifted and groaned from the pain, his squirming immediately stopping so he wouldn’t hurt himself worse than he already has. He blearily noticed the cold sensation on his forehead and reached for it, finding a cold paper towel.

...He didn’t question it and just held it to his cheek, relishing in the sensation as he slowly got accustomed to the pain in his body.

...Right. He’d tried to heal a damn flowerbed last night.

 

When it was nearing noon, Toriel had gotten more and more worried; she’d had an entirely unproductive morning due to her worrying, and now it was getting close to when she normally made Asriel his ‘breakfast’.

...She didn’t want to leave Blue alone, though.

…

Asriel would just have to wait unless Blue simply did not wake up for a long time.

 

When noon had passed and neither Asriel came out here and Blue hadn’t woken up, Toriel was getting progressively more worried.

She was about to stand go make food and get Asriel up when _finally_ she heard movement and noise. She was immediately alert, her eyes snapping up to Blue as she held her breath.

...In the back of her mind, she was wondering why Asriel hadn’t woken up yet.

She stayed quiet for a minute as she watched Blue (when she saw that Blue seemed to be glad for the paper towel, she was happy that she had done that).

After another moment, she finally cleared her throat. “Blue.” ...Her voice sounded somewhat stern despite her worry and concern.

No matter how worried she’d been, she _knew_ that Blue had to be up for _some reason_ before passing out on the couch the way he did.

So what on earth was he _doing_ last night?

Sans quickly looked to Toriel, his mind blank for a couple seconds. Eventually, he started the struggle of sitting up, gritting his teeth from the pain. “...s-sorry. um… i went… ...wandering. ‘wanted ta kno-ow what was o-outside,” The best lies were based off the truth, right…? He knew she wanted an answer without her even asking. “i, u-uh… tripped and…? had ta- had ta use magic ta get home. …’cause- ‘cause i, uhhh… hurt my l-leg. worse. s-sorry.”

Toriel’s eyebrows shot up in surprise when Blue _immediately_ launched into what happened last night; she visibly relaxed, but then she suddenly tensed, her eyebrows pinching slightly with wary and skepticism. Why would he immediately launch into what he did?

_...Why did he go outside?_

She frowned. _“Blue._ I _specifically-!”_ She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, straightening her back and trying to calm herself down.

He could have _seriously_ hurt himself!

...He already _did;_ he said he hurt his leg…!

Toriel’s stomach churned as she sat rigidly, brows creased and mouth downturned. Her fingers were knit tightly together as they rested upon her book in her lap. Disappointment and general upsetting feelings churned inside of Toriel that she tried to keep at bay, but it was incredibly difficult.

Toriel sighed quietly opened her eyes, fixing Blue with a stern look, eyes narrowed, eyebrows furrowed, and mouth tilted downwards. _“This_ is why I did not want you wandering around on your own before you were better, Blue. You simply could have _asked me_ about going outside, and I would have gone on a walk with you,” She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She was at her wit’s end. She dropped her hand and gave him another look. “Do _not_ pull this again, please. ...I am going to have to take a look at your leg,” She told him. Her expression hadn’t lightened in the slightest.

Sans winced; there was the guilt.

...Not to mention the intense _uncomfortable, sick coil_ in his soul. “uh. okay, but only if ya knock me out before ya do,” He’d said it jokingly, but… he _really_ didn’t want to distinctly remember a human’s touch going up and down his leg. Not to mention the _dumb scars on his femurs…_

Toriel faltered. She gave him a worried look. “I would do no such thing,” She said, then paused, shifting. She kept a close eye on him. “...Why would you want that?” ...She remembered worrying that Blue didn’t like touch…

Was she right?

Sans just shrugged. “...uh. somethin’ up with… touch, i guess,” She didn’t need to know about his overcomplicated fear of humans.

...So she _was_ right.

Toriel was quiet for a minute. “...I… promise to never touch you unless it is necessary or _vital_ that I do.” She couldn’t promise to never touch him; sometimes, she _had to._ Like right now because of whatever Sans did last night… and like when she first found him with Asriel in his garden some time ago.

Sans faltered before a slight, sad smile crossed his face. “thanks…” Even though the times that it’s vital are the times that he’s gonna hate it the most. “...just gimme a warning, i guess. or… like a…. i dunno. ...a ch- ...a chance ta… eh. forget it. uhh… did ya wanna, um, check on my leg _now_ or what…” His voice was incredibly soft and quiet.

Toriel wanted to press on what he was going to say, but then simply sighed. She shook her head. “No. Right _now_ I want you to drink, eat, and take some medicine. I want you to rest and _not move_ while I make my son his… ‘breakfast’,” She sighed, her gaze drifting towards the hall. Why was he not awake yet…? She turned back to Blue. “When all is said and done, I will bring you to my medical room- or, ‘doctor’s office’, even though I am not really a doctor, and I will check up on your leg. ...I am afraid I will have to touch you for this, but I promise to be swift and gentle. I won’t do more than I have to.” She laid it all out for him, plain and simple.

Sans sighed and just… nodded. He was _exhausted_ and he really didn’t have the energy to argue with her. He leaned toward the table and quietly began taking things one at a time.

…...He wanted to check on the flowers… Ugh.

Toriel was quiet for a moment before smiling softly and standing. “Thank you. I will be back soon,” Toriel turned and headed to the kitchen.

~~~

Toriel whipped up some breakfast for Asriel and set it out on the table before she quietly moved to his room.

She knocked on the door a few times.

…

There was no response.

Toriel frowned heavily. “Asi? Wake up, you need to eat,” She called.

There was still no response.

Toriel took a deep breath, trying not to worry too much and failing.

She knocked again, louder. _“Asriel._ Wake up.” She was quiet, waiting and listening.

There was _still_ no response.

Toriel took another deep breath as her heart raced.

She tried the door handle, but it was locked.

Her chest tightened and her breathing was a tad uneven; her entire body was rigid with panic, her eyebrows furrowed. “Asriel! Open this door!” She knocked louder.

Through her own racing heart and her quickened breath, she managed to hear some shuffling and a quiet groan. She swallowed thickly, calming down slightly. She knocked again. “As.ri.el. Open up.” She called again, more calm, but still tense.

She heard a little more shuffling and a louder groan. _“Go away…!”_ She heard the quiet, muffled voice.

Toriel’s lips formed into a thin, tense line. “Asriel, I will not tell you again to open this door.” She said sternly.

There was quiet for a long moment before she heard an even louder groan; there was more shuffling, and, eventually, footsteps.

She straightened her back and took a small breath, smoothing out her features. The door unlocked with a click before a messy-haired, squinty-eyed, frowning Asriel opened the door and glared up at her. “What.” He deadpanned grumpily.

Toriel was quick to look him over, noting the hunch in his shoulders and how he seemed to be gripping the door handle and the doorframe. His face was too pale and he looked utterly terrible.

Toriel frowned and gave him a sharp but worried look. “It is way past noon, Asi. You need to come andeat.”

 _“Uuggh._ No.”

Toriel raised her eyebrows at him. _“No?”_

…

…

“Gh… Fine…. just- gimme a minute…” Flowey muttered.

Toriel looked at him for a few, long moments. Finally, she sighed. “You have _one minute._ If you are not in the kitchen and eating by the time your minute is up, I will come back and drag you if I have to,” Internally, she was incredibly worried; was Asriel sick? What happened? Why were both of the boys in her house so suddenly _hurt?_ Despite her worry and concern, she knew that she had to keep up a facade and be the stern mother keeping him on a schedule.

...She would grill him after he woke up a bit more and ate.

Asriel gave her a long-suffering look, but Toriel only raised her eyebrows before turning and briskly walking off to the kitchen.

She was sat at the table, counting down the seconds when, finally, Asriel came shuffling in, arms crossed and head down. He moved over to his chair and sat down heavily, tiredly pulling his plate to him and not saying anything.

Toriel watched him for a few, quiet long moments as she observed his body language.

Finally, she sighed heavily and set her arms on the table. “Asriel.” She said sternly.

She saw him flinch, but he otherwise didn’t react or respond.

Toriel’s mouth tightened and her voice became a tad more impatient; she was getting tired of lies and avoidance. _“Asriel-”_

“It’s Flowey! _Flowey!”_ Asriel harshly cut in, looking up at her with his mouth and nose scrunched, his eyes squinted slightly and a hurt expression on his face. His eyes looked a little watery.

Toriel was a bit taken aback, but she simply composed herself and straightened her back.  
She was silent for a long moment. _“...Asi…”_ When Asriel just sighed heavily, shook his head, and looked back down and stabbed at his food, Toriel frowned. _“Asriel,_ you cannot expect me to just… suddenly call you by a name that you are _not-!”_

“You said you call that skeleton Blue even though you don’t know his real name!”

“Asriel, that is entirely different-”

_“No it’s not!”_

Toriel inhaled sharply. “Asriel.” He flinched and made a frustrated noise, but otherwise said nothing. “Your name is _Asriel._ It is a special name that we chose-”

“You mean you and Dad?!”

Toriel swallowed thickly, tensing up. “...Yes,” She wouldn’t lie when she had just been frustrated with the lies. “It is special, and it holds a lot of meaning, and it’s not as _silly_ as-as _‘Flowey’-”_

 _“It’s not silly!”_ Asriel’s voice cracked as his head snapped up to glare at her; he looked hurt.

...Toriel felt guilt course through her, but she wasn’t going to back down. “Asi.” She said, only for him to throw another short tantrum as he stabbed another piece of food, looking down. He wasn’t even eating. “There is no _meaning_ to ‘Flowey’, it’s- it’s not a _name-”_

“There _is_ meaning to Flowey!” He exclaimed, looking up at her with an exasperated and desperate expression. _“Mom._ My- it’s…” He seemed to lose steam. His lip wobbled and he looked back down, shaking his head. “...I love my f-flowers, and, and s-so, I just- I wanna…”

“Why can you not love your flowers and be Asriel?” He flinched again.

“You j-just don’t under _stand…_ ” He whispered roughly.

Toriel sighed in obvious frustration and rubbed her face before giving him a sharp look even though he was looking down. _“Fine._ I don’t understand, Asriel. I don’t _understand_ why you would choose to throw away the _special name_ that I gave you-”

“You and Dad.”

 _“-That I gave you.”_ She took a sharp breath. Then, she shook her head. “We are not talking about this any longer,” Asriel scoffed and muttered ‘whatever’ under his breath. Toriel’s skin was crawling with irritation. “We have a guest, Asi-” He flinched again. “we should not be fighting like this.” She said with a small sigh. There was a quiet pause as she watched him push around his food. She composed herself as much as possible and quieted her voice. “Now… why don’t you inform me of what happened last night, Asriel? Why are you so _exhausted_ and in _pain?_ She asked.

Asriel looked uncomfortable. He shrugged. “Stayed up too late,” He muttered.

Toriel frowned. “...Doing _what?”_

“Nothing!” He snapped.

Toriel straightened her back, her eyebrows raising slightly. She watched him shove a piece of food in his mouth and angrily chew it. “Asriel-”

_“Quit calling me that!”_

Toriel sighed heavily.

 _“...My child,”_ She compromised, for now. He squirmed in his seat a bit, but said nothing; he must be more okay with that. “What were you doing up last night?”

_“Why do you care?!”_

“I _care_ because you are my _son-”_ He flinched at that, too. Toriel’s frown deepened as her eyebrows furrowed. “-and I _love you._ I want what’s best for you-”

“What’s best for me is callin’ me Flowey,” Asriel muttered, and Toriel sighed and rubbed a hand over her face.

“Quit interrupting me,” She warned, then watched Asriel slump a bit more and shove another bite of food in his mouth. She sighed quietly. “...I _love you,-”_ She cut herself off from saying a name. She sighed. “You are my _entire world,_ love. I want to know when something is wrong so that I can help. ...I _also_ what to know when you _do_ something wrong so that I can get you back on the right track, dear,” She said a little more sternly. “...Please, do not make me confiscate your headphones. _Tell me_ why you were up so late last night.”

She didn’t like threatening punishment before she even knew whether or not he did something wrong, but lately, Asriel just hadn’t been _listening,_ and she was losing her patience; which was _rare,_ for her. She didn’t know how to deal, though, when he just… _wouldn’t talk to her._

There was a long moment of silence before Asriel sighed quietly. When he spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper.

“...I-I couldn’t sleep, sooo… I… ...went… outside. I-I know you don’t like when I leave the house at night or without telling you but I didn’t wanna wake you, M-Mom, and I just couldn’t handle the stuffiness of my small room. I j-just- I just walked to my garden and back. I’m sorry. ...Please don’t take my headphones…” He muttered the last part almost desperately.

Toriel listened patiently, now, happy that he was _finally_ talking.

When he finished, she sighed. “...I will not. Thank you for being honest,” She said, but then faltered.

...Blue had claimed that he had gone out wandering last night as well; and the both of them come home exhausted and in pain…?

...Blue had said that he’d simply tripped and fallen, but was that a lie?

Toriel knew that Asriel was upset with Blue for destroying his flowers…

...Did the two of them _get into a fight?_

Was Blue covering for Asriel?

Toriel looked over Asriel for a few long moments as he stayed slumped with his gaze down as he ate slowly before she simply sighed and stood.

She wouldn’t get an honest answer out of him, and she hated that she knew that; she would simply… have to ask Blue later. If he was covering, Toriel was sure that with a little prodding that he would admit to just ‘not wanting to get her child into trouble’. “...When you finish eating, I want you to do your chores, and then…” She sighed. “You may go and rest in your room. Later, though, I will come to check up on your health. Alright?” Asriel grumbled. _“Alright?”_

“U-ugh, yeah, f-fine, wh-whatever.”

Toriel sighed. “Good. I love you.”

...There was no response.

Toriel ignored the pain in her chest as she simply went back to the living room and sat across from Blue in her rocking chair. She was quiet for a moment before she gave Blue an apologetic expression. “...I do not know how much of that you heard, but I am sorry that you had to hear it. Are you ready for your check-up, now, dear?” Her voice was _much_ more calm, gentle, and sweet now.

~~~

Sans had initially been trying to block the conversation out, but eventually… he couldn’t resist his curiosity. What were the differences between these worlds? What was up with Asriel? What was up with… fuck, _everything._

But, man, he hasn’t heard that stern mom voice in a while. The last time he did was-

...His mind blanked. Did- ...Did he just hear them say _Flowey!?_

He’d dragged all his attention at once to the conversation, doing his best to ignore the pain and retain all that was being said.

He didn’t really hear anything else of importance, though the bit of insight into their relationship explained some things.

By the end of it all, he was both distantly uncomfortable and _incredibly_ intrigued. ...As well as a little alarmed.

_Why would Asriel want to call himself Flowey?_

There was _no way_ that was a coincidence- not when he’d found so many similarities already. It just… didn’t make sense…! Why would Asriel want to name himself Flowey, the same sadistic little black hole from his own universe!?

...How were they connected…?

…

Sans actually flinched when Toriel was suddenly talking to him. ...The change in her tone… actually pissed him off.

She’d been so stern and frustrated with Flowey… Asriel… ugh. She’d been so stern, then she turns around and immediately goes soft and sweet on _Sans?_ No…! _Jeez…_

…

Something, at some point, _really_ went wrong here. Something happened between Flowey and Toriel to make things go sour.

 _No_ mother would _ever…_ no… _Toriel_ would never act so frustrated and snappish with her own child then treat a _guest_ better. Not unless that child was genuinely _bad._ But nothing Flowey did was wrong…

…

Sans had been silent for too long; he could feel the time to say something steadily ticking down. “...i-it’s, uh… s’fine. and… no.” ...This was _weird…_ Not to mention he really didn’t like the idea of Flowey being the victim. Ugh… This had all quickly devolved into a mess of _chaos._ ...At this point… he wasn’t above snooping. “but, uh… ‘flowey’? what’s that about, if, uh… ya don’t mind me asking…?”

Toriel tensed, her lips thinning in a tight smile. After a moment, she simply waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, it is nothing, do not worry about it,” She glanced towards the kitchen with a small sigh before looking back at Blue. “It is just… some sort of… teenage phase, I think,” She sighed softly. ‘Anyhow… I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch whether or not you are ready for your check-up.” She said, tilting her head at him.

“...i don’t think… that’s a, uh, phase…” He said slowly. Sans was perfectly content to test his luck with Toriel’s rage. He’d rather that than have her touch him any day. Plus… he was so _fucking **curious.**_

Toriel blinked. Blue… was avoiding answering her question and was also trying to talk about a touchy subject. She frowned. “Blue.” She was actually uncomfortable; no one but Asriel himself had told her that it ‘wasn’t a phase’. “I would rather not discuss this.” She was already frustrated and on edge; she didn’t think she could nicely tell him to _back off._ “I take it you are not ready for your check-up, yet?” ...He had to be soon. Toriel really didn’t want to force him.

Sans sighed. ...This seemed like one of those times Toriel forgot herself and got stuck in her old ways. She just… well. She deserved her privacy.

…

 _God_ he wanted to know about Flowey… “...seriously. i don’t think, uhh… i really don’t think ya gotta do this huge… check up thing, or whatever.”

Toriel sighed. “It has been a few days since I first found you, Blue. You were badly injured and… honestly, I should have checked your bandages sooner, but…” She sighed again. She’d been trying to give Blue space and let him sleep. “...Now that you hurt yourself worse, I believe… that it is vital to give you a check-up.” She almost went on to say that she just needed to check his leg, but then she realized she _should_ be checking _all_ of him… “...Just until you are fully healed, I will need to periodically check to see how you are doing.”

Sans shifted uncomfortably. He’d finally managed to get used to the bandages, but he knew the moment they were changed he’d be scratching at his arms again. More than a few times he’d considered taking them off himself; he always wore sleeves so nobody would find out for a while, either. Ugh… If they were changed, he couldn’t guarantee that he would leave them alone. “...this whole thing, uh… is kinda a huge invasion of privacy.” He weakly tried again to argue.

Toriel paused, then swallowed thickly; she felt guilt settling heavily on her chest. She made sure to breathe. “...My apologies,” *She said slowly, then sighed. “...I know that… it is not… _pleasant…_ but it is for your own physical safety,” she explained. “I have a lot of medical practice and experience. I promise it will be like nothing more than a simple doctor-esque visit. You are my guest, and, currently, my patient by extension, and I would like to keep tabs on your health,” She told him honestly. “...I just want to make sure you are okay, Blue.” She… needed to sleep.

Sans gave her a long-suffering look before eventually just… sighing. “fine. i, uh… heh. guess i can’t convince you. oh boy…” He had a feeling this would be his worst trip to the doctor yet. Unless the last one actually counted; he was half out of his mind with pain, then, so he wasn’t sure. “let’s… just get it over with, then.” He whispered.

Toriel vaguely wished that the boys in her life would stop _guilt-tripping her._ First, it was Asriel, and now it was her guest, Blue. She sighed quietly, nodded, and stood. “...Yes. ...Let’s.” She moved closer to Blue. “...I know you do not like to be touched, but do you need help getting up?” She had no idea about how badly he hurt his leg.

Sans simply pushed himself to stand on his own; despite swaying a little, he stayed up just fine. ...All he’d really done since getting back was sleep half the day away and eavesdrop. What an accomplishment. “lead the way.”

Toriel watched him worriedly for a moment before simply sighing and nodding. She turned, keeping an eye on Blue, and began to lead the way down the hall to the medical room.

She opened the door and stepped inside, directing Blue to sit on a nearby chair before turning and setting out the folding table. She placed a step stool next to it and then directed Sans to sit on the table while she turned and got the rest of her medical supplies out.

Sans gave the stepping stool a wary look but still forced himself to stand and hobble toward it. He glanced toward Toriel before holding his breath and trying to quietly climb it without falling over and accidentally dusting. The climb up was sort of humiliating, so it was good she wasn’t watching. Once he was up, he sighed heavily and kept his eyes down.

When Toriel was pulling all of her supplies next to her, she smiled softly when she noticed Blue already up and on the table. After a moment, though, she faltered; her expression turned more neutral. She straightened her back and cleared her throat. “Alright, dear. I’m going to need you to… take off your jacket,” She said a little reluctantly. “...If you want, I can check your leg first, though?”

“wow. uh. can’t i just check it myself,” He hated himself for arguing over something so _stupid,_ but he couldn’t help the dumb irrational fear.

Toriel sighed quietly. “Do you have hundreds of years of medical experience?” She immediately asked, almost a little sarcastically despite the guilt she felt for having to invade Blue’s privacy.

“no, but-...” He sighed. Any other degree he happened to have wouldn’t change his situation. If it wasn’t a medical degree, Toriel wouldn’t care. “...just start on my leg, then.” He whispered.

Toriel swallowed thickly and sighed. She nodded. “...I… am truly sorry, Blue. I don’t want to invade your privacy and break your trust… but I _need_ to make sure you’re healing properly.” ...When she stopped speaking, she averted her gaze and went quiet, simply bending down in front of Blue and checking each leg; he had damaged his leg again pretty badly, it seemed, but otherwise… everything else seemed to be healing rather well.

She discarded all of the dirty bandages and grabbed some clean ones before going back. Before she put them on, though, she tapped on Blue’s knees; she smiled when each one reflectively kicked out.

She then re-wrapped some of the worst wounds, but left the others that were mostly healed alone (she didn’t touch Blue’s femurs after taking off the bandages that had been there).

When all was said and done, she set some stuff aside and looked up at Blue with a soft, sad, wary look. “...Alright. You hurt your leg rather badly last night, which, unfortunately, is going to prolong your healing process. ...On the bright side, everything else I saw is so far healing nicely. ...Now… I need you to take off your jacket, Blue,” She said, then paused. She was quiet for a moment. “...I may need you to take off your shirt as well, or at least lift it for me, since there are bandages on your ribs and spine.” She hated doing this when the person on her table was so _reluctant._

...It was easier to force Asriel to suck it up.

“...what a shirty situation,” Sans mumbled, just bitterly trying to make himself stop feeling like shit. He swallowed thickly and struggled with his jacket, leaving it in his lap once he was done.

...He was shaking a little.

If Blue wasn’t clearly so upset, Toriel might have scolded him for cleverly referencing a swear word. However, since she knew he wasn’t happy right now, she said nothing. She simply stepped forward and…

Blue was shaking.

She composed herself and simply took Sans’s arm; she began to unwrap the bandage around his forearm first.

The second he could feel the pressure being taken off his forearms, he tensed. “hey. so. i’m. having, uh. second thoughts. ...about this whole thing. how about we stop here and, uh. just go get some nice cream or somethin’.” He muttered. It felt like his head was buzzing with oversensitive nerves. He _really_ wanted to leave. Did he have enough magic for a shortcut? Probably not. Would he take one anyway? Most likely.

Toriel paused, looking up at him and frowning. He sounded panicked. She was still for a long moment before she looked down… and then she realized.

She looked up at Blue’s face and gave him a soft, sad smile. “...Blue. ...I know why you want me to stop,” She said, then sighed. “I know about the self-harm scars and… cuts. I promise that I will not ask about them, alright? I simply want to make sure you are healing correctly. ...This will be over before you know it,” After a second of thought, her smile widened. “Plus, if you stick through this to the end, I will give you a lollipop! Perhaps two, if you’re really good,” Her voice had lilted slightly into a mom voice; it’d been a long time since she used to bribe Asriel with treats… she had completely forgotten until now that she could try and reassure Blue with the thought of candy. Perhaps her voice had been a little too close to condescending, though.

...So. She already knew. ...No wonder she’d been so… extra protective of him. ...Sans tried to take a deep breath; his soul had stuttered when she said ‘self-harm’ and now he just felt sick. Sick of himself. “...d’you… have, uh, any idea how old i am? heh… ‘cause, uh… i don’t think you’d offer a lollipop ta someone like me if ya knew.”

Toriel blinked. After a moment, her cheeks heated up. She looked over Blue’s face, then looked down at his body, before looking back up at his face. “Well… I do not know your age, but you are _never_ too old to have a lollipop!” She tried to keep the cheer.

Wait… how could Blue remember his own age but not his _name?_

“...pff… well i dunno it either, but uh… i’m definitely no kid,” The specific day of his birth was lost, but he got the gist of his age. “...heh… i look like a four-year-old,” He was definitely still bitter about that. “...pff. am i allowed ta curse, now?”

Toriel silently noted that he didn’t even know his age. At his final question, though, she let go of him so she could step back and put her hands on her hips, giving him a stern look. _“No._ Swearing is not allowed in this household,” She told him, raising an eyebrow challengingly.

Sans shifted so the half unwrapped bandages would stay where they were instead of slipping. “c’mon. this is skullduggery. cut me some slack.”

Toriel’s other eyebrow raised. “I will not be cutting any slack,” She almost said ‘again’. “You will get three swear-word warnings each day,” She said it, but then paused, blinked, and faltered.

_Blue wasn’t her child, she couldn’t just go and…!_

...She didn’t even… _she couldn’t give a punishment…_

Goodness, she needed to realize that she couldn’t mother _everyone._ She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “How about…” She gave Blue a look. “Simply try your best to not swear, and, _please_ do not swear in front of my son.” She offered.

...Oops. Some of the very first words he said to Flowey were swears. ...That’s how it was in _both_ worlds, actually. He couldn’t help but snort at the realization. That really shouldn’t be as funny as it was. “y-yeah, uhm. deal.” He was actually losing his mind. He wanted his jacket back already… Ugh.

Toriel watched him for a moment before nodding. “...Thank you,” After a moment, she stepped forward. “Now… if you are alright for me to continue, I would like to finish what I started. I will be as fast as possible.” She hummed.

Sans would’ve _loved_ to say no, just leave it alone, he was fine, but he knew Toriel would never drop it. He sighed and unwrapped the rest of his own bandages, not bothering with being gentle with himself. He kept his forearms facing down.

Toriel watched with a slight frown.

Blue really didn’t care about himself, did he?

She sighed quietly and gently took Blue’s hand, turning his forearm to face up so she could inspect the painful-looking wounds.

They were healing, but not enough… they actually looked a little irritated. She frowned. ...Had Blue been scratching a _lot_ at the bandages…?

She turned, keeping a hold on Blue’s hand, and grabbed a disinfectant wipe before she gently began to wipe at the rougher looking cuts. When she finished, she threw the wipe and the bandages away before grabbing new bandages. She re-wrapped Blue’s arm and then held her hand out for his other arm. “...You have been doing really well so far, Blue. I’m proud of you for cooperating.” She was used to over-praising Asriel.

Sans was beyond uncomfortable. “i, uhh… did literally nothing,” He gripped his jacket with the finished arm before reluctantly offering her his other arm.

Toriel gave him a look and a small smile, shaking her head as she took his other arm. “You have been taking this well, and allowing me to do my job,” She said, beginning to unwrap the other arm. “You’re not squirming or trying to get away,” She chuckled softly at a memory… “You’re being very- ...well. ...Good,” She realized halfway through that she probably shouldn’t say that, but she still finished her thought anyway.

...Blue clearly didn’t like himself; did he never have anyone around to praise him…?

...Toriel really wanted to make it her job to praise him, but he wasn’t her son… “...Just. Thank you for cooperating,” When she finished unwrapping the second arm, she noted that this one wasn’t as bad; it was his left arm. She hummed. “You’re healing so well…!” She said a bit happily.

She decided that this arm didn’t need disinfecting. She grabbed new bandages and swiftly re-wrapped.

When she was finished, she smiled at Blue. “There you go. We’re nearly done. How are you feeling? … … ...Physically,” ...He was probably not doing very well emotionally.

“s’funny‘causethey’rebothjustasterribleastheother,” He muttered bitterly under his breath. “it’s, uhhh. ...perfectly fine?” He shrugged slightly. “can i go now?”

Toriel frowned, then sighed. She shook her head. “We’re _almost_ done,” She reminded him of what she had just said. “...Your ribs and spine are next,” The bandage that had been on Blue’s face had fallen off a while ago in his sleep and she had simply thrown it away; his face hadn’t been too bad. _“Then_ you may go rest. Well…” She paused in thought as something dawned on her, but she simply shook her head and gave Sans a look. “...You may lay back and close your eyes, if it will make you feel better. If not, that’s okay too,” She was just trying to give him options. “Again, I will be fast.”

Closing his eyes would send him into a fucking panic attack. He shifted uncomfortably. “...m’not getting out of this, am i,” When Toriel only shook her head, Sans swallowed thickly.

It took a second for him to force his body to move; he tugged his shirt off over his head and tried to take a deep breath.

Toriel decided to make his suffering as short as possible.

Without a word, she stepped forward and began unraveling bandage after bandage; there were only a few spots that were still badly damaged and needed more disinfectant and bandaging. However, most of it was healing well and she was able to leave it alone.

When she _finally_ finished, she stepped back. “...There. All done! Finally,” She turned and rummaged in a cabinet in the corner of the room. “What flavor lollipops do you want?” She assumed that he wanted the lollipops, because more often than not, people who claimed that they didn’t want one, still wanted one (specifically, Asriel).

“...alcohol,” He mumbled, slowly sliding off the table and to the floor with a wince. “i, uh, no thanks. don’t want one. don’t need one,” He put his bad leg down, testing its reliability.

Toriel frowned, still pulling the jar of lollipops out anyway; it was a clear, glass jar so that people could point to the color they wanted. She turned to Blue, holding it in her hands. “Are you _sure?_ You did so well, dear, you deserve… _some_ kind of treat!” She kept a wary eye on him as he moved, worried he might fall.

“i, uh, dunno about _deserving,_ but… i, uh, i… don’t- i don’t need one,” He’d ended up glancing down to the jar halfway through speaking and recognizing a few flavors he clearly remembered from his childhood. He hadn’t expected the sudden nostalgia, nor the ghost of pleasant memories. He swallowed thickly. He didn’t need it.

Toriel raised her eyebrows.

The only reason she was about to persist was because Blue had said “I dunno about deserving”, which she very much disagreed with. _He definitely deserved a treat!_ “Blue. First of all… you _do_ deserve treats. ...Second of all…” She paused, something else clicking. She gave him a look. “You may not _need_ one- _no one_ **needs** lollipops… but do you _want one?”_ If he still insisted, she would back down… but he _deserved a treat._ “Or, two, since I said you could have two for doing so well,” She added as an afterthought.

Sans eventually lowered his gaze to the floor. ...He _did_ want it, but he shouldn’t. He was a grown adult with a family and multiple jobs and yet… here he was. Freeloading, taking lollipops, being taken care of by humans… The list went on.

His soul pulsed with a sharp, guilty pain. What was he doing here…? “...nah. no thanks,” After a second he stepped passed Toriel, planning on just… leaving. The bathroom, the couch, or the outdoors, he didn’t know.

Toriel frowned. She set the jar down and turned after Blue. “Blue, hold on,” She had something she needed to talk to him about, that she’d been putting off. “I- …” She sighed and decided to just be bluntly honest. “There is something I need to discuss with you. I didn’t want to bring it up while I was doing the check-up, because I didn’t want to make you even more uncomfortable or… have to think and respond during it,” She admitted.

...She really wished he would’ve taken a lollipop. She had _seen_ the look on his face when he looked away.

Sans had to shift his weight to his good leg. “what’s up…?” He never liked that look on Toriel’s face, but he hated it even more in this world.

She sighed softly. “I am going to need you to be completely honest with me,” She said, giving him a look. “...Are you covering for Asriel?” She asked it bluntly. There was a small pause before she quickly went on before Blue could respond. “You _both_ apparently went outside last night, and you _both_ got hurt. Neither of you mentioned the other being out there, though. Now, I know Asriel was upset with you over his flowers. ...Did you two get into a fight that you are covering up so that he doesn’t get in trouble with me?” She didn’t want to subtly find out. She just wanted the _honest truth,_ and all she could do was ask bluntly.

Sans was quiet for a few long seconds before he suddenly snorted. “y-you-you think i got in a _fight_ with _him? wow._ uh. no. that definitely didn’t happen. pff… he would’ve dusted me just by looking at me.”

Toriel blinked but then sighed. He seemed to be telling the truth. “Well… I am glad that you two did not get into a fight,” She hummed. “...Did… did you see him out there, though? He didn’t mention seeing you… and you didn’t mention seeing him. ...I just find that very odd,” _...How did they both get hurt at the same time, though?_ It just _wasn’t adding up._

Sans blinked and shrugged slightly. “well, uh…” ...What if he told the truth here? ...Would Toriel try to do something…? “...i didn’t see him. dunno what ta tell ya. dunno what ya expected ta hear.”

Toriel was quiet for a long moment before sighing. Perhaps it was just a weird coincidence and they both went outside at different times. She rubbed her forehead before dropping her hand and giving Blue a small smile. “...Thank you for being honest with me. All I expected to hear was the truth,” She stepped forward. “Anyhow. You may go rest, now,” She would have him walk around later. “Thank you for cooperating. You will be healed in no time.”

“speaking of, um. healed. don’t’cha have healing magic,” He would rather ask this than confront the sudden, raging guilt inside him.

Toriel paused. After a moment, she swallowed thickly. “Well… I have… a _version_ of it, more or less,” She said vaguely.

“...that’s not suspicious at all,” He slowly took a couple steps back until he could lean against the wall. “why don’t’cha tell me about it…?”

Toriel was quiet for a moment before she sighed. “...It does not simply… heal someone,” She said as simply as she could. “To heal someone of their wounds, the wounds must be replaced. ...Specifically, on me,” Toriel would, without a doubt, heal people even if it cost her; however, that was more… in the _past._ She had a _son_ now to look out for.

“wait, so-...” ...So Toriel would get the wounds of whoever she was healing…!? ...What were humans even _doing._

What was- what was…

What was _Flowey_ doing.

Trying to heal a flower bed all on his own every night? and _failing?_ And still trying? _What._ “...u-uh. that’s, um. ...wow,”...Should he tell Toriel about this? …...He didn’t know. Ugh. He didn’t know. This wasn’t worth the stress. It wasn’t worth the trouble. What was he even doing here? Why was he still trying?

...Why was he still trying? “...sorry about that. the magic.” He whispered.

Toriel sighed heavily and waved her hand. “It is alright. I would heal you, really, but-”

“heh, what? no. n- _no._ ” Sans would die from emotional wounds instead of physical if she did that. “seriously. don’t do that.”

Torel paused, then gave him a sad smile. “I can heal you when your wounds are a little more bearable; the _only_ reason I did not heal you immediately was because… well. I have to look out for my son. ...Once your leg heals on its own, I would like to heal the rest of you,” She told him. She needed to be able to walk, at the very least. She needed to be able to take care of people.

Sans would definitely avoid her when that day comes. “well… uh, right. ...but seriously… don’t. i’ll be fine,” He’d rather die than give Toriel his pain- human or not.

Toriel merely sighed. “You ought to go rest, dear. I will come to check on you in a little while,” She told him. She still had to check up on Asriel and bring him in here to make sure his health is intact.

Sans sighed as well and just turned, limping back to the couch and lying down. It would take a while for him to finally get to sleep, but at least he would sleep eventually.

When Blue left, she stood still for a minute and simply composed herself, taking a moment to breathe in the silence. She straightened her back and left to find Asriel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAA. i hope you all enjoyed that chapter! please leave a comment if you liked it/want us to update more! :D
> 
> you guys are awesome! the support has been very nice <3
> 
> hopefully we'll see you next week with our next chapter...! i just have to make sure to format it soon...
> 
> thanks again for reading! it means a lot!
> 
> check out our tumblr for occasional updates and random undertale reblogs pfft! https://www.spaceyauthors.tumblr.com
> 
> -frisk


	7. Memories Resurfacing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Small gifts, memories, and questions.  
> Not very eventful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG hey everyone! it's frisk here. but! oh my god! it's been! a very long time! i'm so sorry!  
> i won't get into it all, but. you know. school. it consumed my life! also, i had some Sad Family Stuff get in the way that made me just. very, very unmotivated for about a month, there. and then holidays, blah, blah, blah!  
> when i posted on tumblr that i'd update soon... literally, then deltarune was uploaded!  
> like!  
> dammit, toby fox! he ruined my plan of updating back in november pfft. so, sorry about that! deltarune took over nex and i's life for some time, and we switched to rping that for a while (we even have some undertale/deltarune crossovers because we are trash)  
> so, yeah, deltarune destroyed any hopes of me uploading this chapter months ago.  
> also, as i was editing it just now, i realized how short it was?! and uneventful?!  
> i'm sorry you had to wait months for this garbage! it's been so long. ugh.  
> i'm not going to make any promises about this being uploaded more consistently now, because, uh. break's over. i go back to school in... 4 hours. it's 3am. oops.  
> anyhow!  
> nex is asleep so i'm uploading this without them being aware. that's why they have nothing to add. 'cause. they don't know.   
> speaking of which, i know we have some comments in our inbox from the previous chapter that have been there a LONG time- i got super anxious and was suddenly unable to respond to people or even open ao3 for months.   
> and i like responding to comments with nex.   
> so, even though i'm uploading this now, i'll try and respond to those comments with nex tomorrow! sorry to those of you who commented!  
> anyway, sorry for this super long ramble! i didn't mean for this to happen. without further ado, chapter 7!
> 
> TL;DR: life got in the way, so so sorry for the wait, deltarune and school screwed me over! nex is asleep, will respond to comments tomorrow, Hopefully!
> 
> happy new year, everyone! <3

Asriel had been _reluctant,_ to say the least. Toriel had calmly ‘convinced’ (more like forced) him to leave his room so that she could give him a check up. She checked his temperature and everything; it took a little longer than it should’ve due to Asriel being stubborn and disobeying.

Regardless, she ended up deciding that Asriel had a common cold and needed to _rest._ When she told him that he couldn’t leave the house (“No, not even to visit your garden”), he had been _pissed._

It took a few raised voices and sharp looks before Asriel finally just stormed off, slammed his door shut, and that was the end of it.

...Toriel was tired.

Asriel hadn’t even taken a lollipop.

Toriel sat on the stool in her medical room, looking at the jar a bit sadly.  
She had spent a _lot_ on those lollipops a few years ago; lollipops were a luxury in the Underground, so they weren’t cheap.

...It really- ...it _sucked_ that Asriel wouldn’t take them anymore.

The smallest of sad smiles crossed Toriel’s face at her own, silent pun before she simply sighed and rubbed her face.

She knew Asriel still liked the lollipops. So why didn’t he take them?  
Why had Blue looked like he wanted one but still denied it?  
Why did everyone _deny_ something when they _wanted_ it and _could_ have it?!

It was infuriating.

…

Toriel needed to get on with the day.

So, she stood and faced the door, but she faltered before taking a step.

She glanced at the lollipops one last time.

...She sighed, stepped over, and pulled three out of the jar and stuffed them in her pocket. She then put the jar away and left the room.

She silently padded down the hallway and slipped Asriel’s favorite flavor under the door. She didn’t knock or make herself known.

After that, she headed to the living room…  
Blue was asleep.

She smiled sadly and stepped near him and simply set the two other lollipops on the coffee table beside Blue.

If he wanted them… he could ‘sneak them in private’.

Even though it was late in the day, Toriel finally turned and began her daily routine.

~~~

The next time Sans woke up, he’d somehow crammed himself into the corner of the couch and curled up. The second he tried moving, he winced, suffering under how _stiff_ he was.

He eventually moved a little more, sitting up and stretching, too. It took him a while to notice the lollipops left on the coffee table. 

He gave them a long look before eventually… reaching for one and unwrapping it. What was he even doing…

It tasted better than he remembered.

…

Sans took a deep breath and leaned back against the couch, silently sucking on the candy as he thought through all that had happened.  
Eventually, he shifted to sit cross-legged with his hands folded in his lap, idly folding and refolding the wrapper.

...Papyrus would’ve loved these…

His mind drifted from this world to his own, back again, then eventually to his childhood. There were plenty of times in which they’d tried to get their hands on candy; at some points, they had even come up with detailed, evil plans to attain them. 

...There was a slight smile on his face.

Soon enough, he finished one and then… picked up the other. He hated himself for just… taking advantage of Toriel’s kindness, but he hadn’t eaten in awhile and they tasted amazing.

He leaned back against the couch, closed his eyes, and let his mind wander. His expression, for once, was… peaceful.

 

It was finally getting closer to dinner time, and Toriel was heading through the living room to get to the kitchen, but she paused at what she saw on the couch.

Blue hadn’t noticed her because she had walked quietly.

He was leaning back, a satisfied expression on his face, as he sucked on a lollipop.  
She grinned knowingly; she _knew_ he wanted a lollipop…!

She glanced at the coffee table.  
...From the looks of it, he was on the second one.

She smirked. “Are you ready for dinner, dear?” She asked with a hum; her voice held an amused, knowing tone.

…

She was really happy that he was eating the lollipops.

Sans jumped when he suddenly heard Toriel so close to him and quickly whipped his head around to look at her. He faltered at the smirk before he finally remembered that he’d initially refused taking one and that she _definitely_ thought if this as a victory. 

His face slowly began to heat up. “uh. ...i, uh… can explain.” He huffed a bit of nervous laughter and looked away, crumpling the wrapper he held.

Toriel’s smirk widened. “No, I think I can explain.” She hummed, raising her eyebrows at him. “Let me guess. You desperately wanted lollipops, earlier, but you denied them because you think it is possible to be too “old” for them, correct?” She hummed. The smirk never left her face. “However, when I left them out for you, you couldn’t ignore them any longer and desperately began to eat the lollipops,” She explained; she was the definition of self-satisfaction. “Am I wrong?” She tilted her head to the side; her eyes were bright.

...She reminded Sans of Papyrus. He’d pull this kinda thing _all the time._ Narrating Sans’s life, telling him he desperately wanted to pick up his sock, acting all pleased with himself when Sans actually _did_ comply with what he was narrating (he only ever did it to see him smile). “well… yer not _wrong…”_ He didn’t really feel up to joking anymore, but he didn’t want to ruin this for Toriel. It looked like she was having fun…

Toriel’s grin widened and she chuckled softly. “That is correct. Pff… I’m never wrong!” She said, then shrugged. “Anyhow. I was about to make dinner. How are you feeling?” She asked.

 _‘I’m never wrong!’_ huh… Sans sighed slowly. That definitely sounded like Papyrus; ...he _missed him,_ dammit… “i’m fine. uh… you…?” He blinked, suddenly feeling distant from the conversation. Like he was watching through a tv screen.

Toriel was quiet for a moment. “...Blue, are you alright?” She asked, not even answering his question. She had initially wanted to know how he was physically feeling or if he was up for eating, but his reaction had been so… ...just…

She hadn’t been expecting him to ask ‘you?’.

Toriel worried too quickly, but she couldn’t do anything about it; she sat down in her rocking chair across from Sans, her eyebrows furrowed with concern.

“um. what? i’m fine.” He subconsciously rubbed at his bandages; it’d grown into a nervous habit. “and, uh, avoiding my question… is kinda worrying? so… are you okay?”

Toriel watched him with a worried frown for a few long moments. She wanted to prod, but she knew they’d get nowhere if she lied as well. She was quiet for a moment before simply sighing. ...She noticed the way he scratched at his arm. “...I… well. I will be alright, dear,” ...She hadn’t meant for that to come out as sad as it sounded, as if she was not okay at all. She paused. “I’m- I’m alright. There are, of course, some problems, but it is nothing that _you_ need to worry about,” She hummed in thought. “Something seems off about you, though. ...I am not sure how you feel about me, but… I will listen if there is anything bothering you that you want to talk about. You are a guest in my home and I care about you, Blue. Anything you tell me will be kept between you and I. I promise.”

“i-i’m totally fine. seriously. i’m just, uh, miss my… my, uh, family. s’whatever. no biggie,” He rubbed harder. “but like. you’ve already done enough. so. lemme repay you. c’mon.”

...Toriel understood the feeling of missing family. Her expression softened. “...Blue… hm. ...Would you like to talk about your family? I would love to hear about them.” It _was_ a big deal; she didn’t like how Blue said it was a “no biggie”.

Wait.

_Wait._

“W-wait. Hang on,” Her eyebrows furrowed, but then they shot up in surprise, her eyes widening. “Are you beginning to remember things?!” She exclaimed. “I thought you had no recollection of anything from before you somehow ended up here!”

 _Fuck._ “u-uh. um. i just meant l-like…” She’d think he was insane if he tried to tell her he was from another universe. How would she even react!? ...Part of him wanted to tell her just to find out. “uhhh. j-just… bits and- bits and pieces…”

Toriel beamed. “Oh, that’s wonderful! I was so _worried…”_ She had muttered that last part before she was straightening her back and giving Blue a soft smile. “Well, what can you remember? Maybe you will start to remember more if you talk about it!” She had her full attention on Blue; there was no way he was getting out of this.

Sans shifted uncomfortably before, suddenly, his soul fluttered and he stilled. This was his opportunity to tell Toriel about Papyrus again.

...But wouldn’t she link that to his other self?

...Ugh… he wanted to tell her so _badly…_

…….Surely it’d be fine…?

“...i-i’ve got a… i’ve, um… i-i dunno. it really… doesn’t matter,” He mumbled quietly.

Toriel gave him a partly worried, a partly stern, and a partly encouraging look. _“Blue._ This matters immensely! You could not remember anything before, so it is _amazing_ that you finally are, and you _should_ talk about it so that you do not forget! This is very, very important. What do you have?” She asked, encouraging him to continue with what he had been saying.

“...a- a brother,” His soul was fluttering both from pain and anxiety. He had _no idea_ if she’d link him to this world’s Sans again. “he’s, um… he’s tall. a-and loud. pretty intense. heh… _wow,_ i miss him… u-uhh… yeah i- i dunno.”

Toriel kept an encouraging smile on her face. “Do you remember his name?” She asked. Maybe Blue was just bad at remembering _names_ for things, since he couldn’t remember his _own_ name.

...nope. ...d’you h-have any siblings? ...He didn’t think so. His own Toriel never mentioned any. He just wanted the topic off himself…

Toriel shook her head. “No. Do you have any other siblings that you can remember? Perhaps a mother or a father?” She asked. She wasn’t going to let the topic change get to her.

Sans cringed a little and shook his head. “both dead. sorta.” He shrugged uncomfortably (deep down, he thought “this is what Toriel got for prying so much”). ...Again, he somehow managed to panic and forget the fact that he was supposed to be suffering from a severe case of amnesia.

Toriel paused. “Sort of? ...What did you remember?” She asked quietly, watching him closely. He’d answered that like he’d known that and had never forgotten it.

Sans winced at how Toriel used that _special_ voice; the one specifically saved for mentally hurt people. “uh. ...one’s, um. …...missing.”

Toriel watched him for a moment. “...Oh?” She said, prompting him to go on.  
...How much did Blue remember in such a short time frame?

“...mhm.” He hummed awkwardly. He knew what she wanted, but he would just… stay silent.

Toriel sighed quietly. “What else do you know?” She asked, hoping he would continue.

Sans shrugged. “uh, nothing. seriously. never mattered that much in the first place. time to, uh, move on.”

Toriel narrowed her eyes at him. “...Well. If you do not remember anything else… I suppose it is time for dinner, now; well, I need to make dinner, but… hm. Are you hungry, dear?” She stood and smoothed out her outfit, straightening her back and looking down at Blue with a smile.

“uh, yeah,” He had a sudden moment of nostalgia from that smile; he’s seen it on a monster face thousands of times before. ...She was still Toriel… and she was still kind… “...h-hey, um… have you, uh… been to- ...a-asriel’s garden recently…?”

Toriel blinked. “I have not been to Asriel’s garden since I found you. Why do you ask?” She questioned.

“...just wondered if… if it was ok. he, um… seemed pretty concerned about ‘em,” And now _Sans_ was concerned about them. Perfect. He was killing himself over a flower bed…

Toriel hummed. “He loves his flowers, yes. I… I am pretty certain that they were destroyed. He repeatedly talks about how you ruined his flowers,” She said, pausing for a moment. “...Do not worry, though. You did not- or, you did not intentionally ruin his flowers. He will get over it in time, so there is no need to feel bad. I am sure that he will be able to salvage his garden, anyhow, and regrow his flowers from scratch,” She told Blue.

...Time to find an excuse to visit the flowers. “uhh… right.” Toriel would never let him go, though, not with how much pain he was in now. 

Toriel sighed quietly. “Anyhow. I am going to make dinner now. You may continue to rest while it is being prepared. ...How do you feel about joining me at the dining table, tonight?” She asked, tilting her head. It would be good for him to move around, after all.

“how official. well, uh… sure. m’good with it. how could i possibly say no. ...m’skin and bones anyway,” He added with a short huff.

Toriel paused, then smiled. “Of course,” She said knowingly. “I am glad you will be joining me at the dining table,” She said, then turned. “I will be back soon.” She began to walk to the kitchen.

Sans sunk a little lower and sighed. He took the lollipop stick out of his mouth, wrapped it in the old wrapper, and set it on the coffee table.

…

What was he gonna _do?_ Just… about everything.

He was about to have dinner with the human version of, not only _Toriel,_ but fucking _Flowey._ ...What even _happened_ to the little freak, huh? What did he have to do with _Asriel_ of all people? ...Did Asriel even exist here?

...Oh, man… he was so _curious._

And yet he was forced to sit and wait, alone with his thoughts, and then eat dinner like a normal person afterward. 

He sighed. 

The world waits for no one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well!  
> i hope you enjoyed!  
> i know this chapter was very short and not very interesting, i'm sorry!  
> cough, also it's been so long since i wrote this (well, toriel's side anyway, since nex writes sans), and now i find my writing cringey. OOF.  
> but, hey, i hope you enjoy it anyway?   
> leave a comment about what you think! if you hate this! love it! kinda tolerate it enough to read it! leave suggestions! critiques! ...but again this was from mmoooonnthhss ago.  
> are you mad at us for not uploading sooner? yell at us for it in the comments!  
> happy we're back? let us know!
> 
> if you didn't notice, i really love getting comments :D  
> (they motivate me to upload sooner...)
> 
> ANYWAY, thanks so much for reading, and thank you if you're coming back after the long hiatus to read this! again, i'm really sorry about the wait!  
> love you all! <3
> 
> happy happy new year! i hope you all have an amazing year <3


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